


Modern Mythos

by linatrinch



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Online Dating, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, mermaid!Finn, vampire!Poe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-02-16 21:13:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 35
Words: 110,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13062264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/linatrinch/pseuds/linatrinch
Summary: Finn is a twenty-three year old mermaid who enjoys spending time with his friends and trying out new foods. Poe is a two hundred year old vampire who enjoys `80's music and classic movies. Q-Pid, the hottest new dating app for the supernatural, has matched them.Alternate title: so many tropes, so little time.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is mostly the fault of the SWWA. They're nuts and I love them.
> 
> Tags will be updated as I go. There's only a vague outline for now.

Poe wasn't very technologically inclined. Well, not totally true. He was good with machines and what have you. The last couple of decades had left him in the dust, though. The internet was still a very new thing to him that he was still trying to resolve actually existed. It was neat but crazy. Anyway, he knew a few tricks. How to send an email, where the caps lock key was, that sort of thing. Jess even made him get a _smart_ phone a year or two ago. He was still dubious about it. He didn't use half of the bells and whistles on the thing. Sometimes when he talked to it, it talked back. It was probably smarter than him.

Being a two hundred year old vampire definitely put a crutch on his ability to keep up with the kids.

Some of the things were cool. Movies, for example. That was great. Music was hit or miss. Society had advanced a great deal, too. Became more welcoming for the most part. He felt comfortable in his body in a way he hadn't felt since 1835 when he figured out that women just didn't do it for him. Then, in 1849, the sun started not to do it for him either. Now people were accepting of the whole package and it was nice and relieving for the most part. So, yeah, the kids were doing pretty good every now and then.

But sometimes they spoke a whole other language. And he was fluent in twenty-one of them. “I'm still trying to figure out who the fuck Tony is.”

“Watch your mouth,” Jess chastised, “and he's just a guy. We're going out for dinner tonight.”

He and Jess had met up in a diner where the only thing that had changed in the last thirty years was the name. They sat in a worn booth over coffee, Poe tapping his cigarette against an ash tray while Jess added another pack of cream to her drink. He took a long drag to calm his annoyance and breathed out a plume of smoke. “But you've never met him?”

“We met online,” she grumbled back. “It's not weird these days. And I can handle myself if that's-”

“No, no. I just-” Still confused, he took another and much longer drag out of the cigarette. “How do you like a guy you haven't met?”

“We met _online_ ,” she said again, slower. “I don't know if I like him anyway. That's what the date's for.” Her spoon rattled against her cup as she stirred.

Poe just shook his head. “Where online? How do you just _meet_ people online?”

“Well you start by talking,” Jess answered, taking a sip and nodding before continuing. “I met him on a dating app, though.”

He stared back at her.

“An app,” she repeated. “Like, on your phone?”

“I thought apps were games.”

“Gaming apps are games. They make apps for everything.”

“I thought apps was slang for games.”  
  
“Apps is short of applications.” When Poe's eyes widened, she groaned at him. “You are so far behind.”

He grimaced. “I'm old, Jess. Have mercy- Hey!” Poe slapped his hand down on the table where his phone had sat not even a second ago. His speed was nothing to be laughed at, but he was never great against another vampire and Jess was younger than him anyway. “Isn't there something to be said about privacy?” he grumbled, taking a sip of his coffee and letting her do whatever she was doing.

“You don't even have a password on this old thing,” she sighed, apparently disappointed about that. “When's the last time you've been on a date, Dameron?”

The laugh bubbled up from his stomach, unbidden, almost making him choke on the coffee. He swallowed hard, tried to calm down, kept giggling, and slunk back in his seat.

“All you have is solitaire on here? How did you even find that?”

Poe leaned forward again and wiped his eyes, taking another pull from his cigarette while he was at it. “A date. Oh man, you crack me up.”

“It's called cupid,” she continued, ignoring him while playing with his phone. “Q-P-I-D. It's a dating app for the supernaturally inclined, like us.”

He chuckled again for a second, still a little confused. Jess did that a lot, sort of ran the conversation off without you, but it usually had a purpose to circle back around to. “What's called Q-Pid? What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” she answered, putting the phone in front of her face. Poe heard the shuttering sound that often went off in his pocket meaning that a picture was just taken... Wait. “Okay,” she continued, lowering the phone in front of her again. “Poe Dameron. 203. Male. Vampire. Looking for men. Any species. Employed, that's an important one.”

He had a bad feeling about this. “Jess?”

“Need a blurb,” she sighed, chewing on her lower lip. “Let's see...”

“The fuck's a blurb?”

“Hi, I'm Poe Dameron, pilot, night owl, and classical movie buff extraordinaire. I'm still getting used to modern technology, so please go easy on me. I like down to earth intellectuals who also enjoy long walks on the beach despite the cliché. When I'm not flying, I like to read, hang out with my friends, or discover new cat videos. If you don't mind the usual late hour or Cary Grant movies, I'd love to chat.”

“Who doesn't like Cary Grant?”

“ _And_ done.”

“What's done?” Poe craned his head forward, trying to see what Jess was doing to his phone. Knowing his luck, he'll never figure out how to work it again. The damn thing was complicated as it was.

Thankfully, she decided to turn the phone around the face him. “Okay, here's the Q-Pid app,” Jess said, pointing at a little icon with a pink background and a baby blue moon. That alone was corny. “You press it and it goes to the home screen,” she continued to demonstrate, showing a picture of himself with all of the information she just added in. “Click on matches over here and you'll see guys in the area that's on here and is into some of the junk you're into. Swipe left if you don't like them. Swipe right if you do like them.”

“Swipe?”

“... Move your fingers on the screen like-”

“Oh, yeah, okay.” Wait, no, not okay. “Jess, I- I'm not going to use _that_. C'mon. I haven't been on a date in-” He waved his hand, trying to think. “I don't know, probably since you've been born.”

“Fifty years is way too long of a time to go without getting laid, Poe.”

He's gotten _laid_. He just- Ugh, never mind. “I'm not going to use it.” Poe said, taking his phone back and trying to put it back on the home screen.

“It's there if you're bored,” she shrugged. “You doing anything today?”

“Catching up on sleep,” he said, thankful for the change in subject so he could pocket his phone. “I've been working days so my schedule is all screwed.”

Jess perked up at that. “Working _days_? Don't they-?”

“It's office work,” he said, waving off her concern. “We've been loaded lately, and I volunteered to help out. They know and went the extra mile. Black out blinds and everything.”

“But still,” Jess grimaced, frowning down at her coffee. “I don't know if I could do that. Freaks me out just thinking about it.”

Poe just laughed. At the end of the day, the kids were still kids. “You get used to it,” he mumbled and took another drag before he could say something like ' _when you get to be as old as I am_ ' or whatever. His age, in his opinion, wasn't really something to brag about.

* * *

“Happy Birthday!” he heard Rey and Rose squeal and giggle.

“Can I-” Finn paused, thought for a second, and just asked. “Can I open my eyes now?”

One of them, probably Rey, groaned and pulled his hands down from his face. He blinked against the bright morning sun reflecting off of the sandy beach. Finn actually had to squint for a second to make out Rey and Rose standing on the dock as he bobbed in the water, his tail keeping him afloat. Rose was holding something out to him. Something on a thin chain. A necklace! A-... _Oh!_ “You got me a new one!? How?”

“We made it!” Rose exclaimed proudly, kneeling down on to the dock to hand it out to him. “Rey got the materials and it was enchanted by yours truly.”

“I can't _believe_ this!” Finn laughed and pulled himself closer to the dock to grab at the necklace. “Thank you guys so much! I'm totally repaying you for this.”  
  
“Absolutely not,” Rey scolded. “It's your birthday. And besides, you're using it tonight. I'm taking you to that sushi place you like so much.”

“Really!?” He knew his eyes had lit up and that his tail was wiggling but he hardly cared. Finn hadn't been on land in nearly a month. He fumbled with the necklace to put it on, the little star pendant falling heavily against his chest. “I'm so excited, you guys. Thank you! Thank you!”

Rose waved her finger at him. “Now you _can't_ lose this one. We worked hard on it, Finn.”

“I won't! I promise!” He had figured he would have to work another two months to afford another one. The surprise and thoughtfulness alone was enough to make him cherish it.

“Now get out of there,” Rey continued. “We got you some clothes we want you to try on.”

“You got me clothes!?” he practically yelled, already trying to pull himself on to the dock before the girls pushed him back into the water.

When he came back up, they were at least laughing at him. “Not here!” They directed him to a cove further up the beach, and he swam for it without another word.

All he really had as far as clothes went was the vest that kept his phone and debit card with him but was secure enough to not get snagged on things in the world or the scales on his arms. Plus, he liked the feeling of clothes on his skin. The first time he had really gotten out of the water, he didn't know how he could be without it again. The surface world _fascinated_ him. Ever since the species of myth and legend have come out into the public eye years ago, the surface world and his world had mingled quite a lot.

Enchantments that allowed a sea dweller to walk on land were about as old as the myths, though. Thankfully, they were now marketable and significantly easier to come by if not a bit expensive. Then he _lost_ his and well- Yeah, he was grateful.

Now to the cove, he pulled himself out of the water as his familiar legs replaced the old tail in a painless fashion. He walked up the shore as Rey and Rose ran in. Rey didn't mind seeing naked bodies unlike Rose who had her eyes covered with a big grin on her face. Either way, they threw three bags of clothes at him. “The pants might snag,” Rey said, eyeing the purple and gold scales along the sides of his legs, “but be thankful I didn't get you booty shorts this time.”

“I'm so excited that I wouldn't have cared, so you missed that opportunity,” he chuckled, chunking his vest and throwing on the boxers, baggy pants, and sleeveless tank top, the first things he grabbed out of the bags. Not exactly a fashion statement, but he was on land so it hardly mattered. They even got him a pair of sandles. “Thank you. Thank you,” he repeated. “Now what? What do you want to do first? Can we go eat? I'll pay for it. Oh, I'm decent, Rose.”

“I guessed,” she laughed, now looking at him, not that he had noticed before. “I guess we could grab a lunch on the pier. Give it a real test drive before we go out tonight. This is the first time I did an enchantment that big- _oof!_ ”

“I'm sure you did great,” he giggled, hugging her within an inch of her life. “You're the best fairy I know. It's already awesome.”

“Finn, I'm the only fairy you know.”

“Come on,” Rey laughed, slapping him on the arm to let Rose go. “I know you missed cheeseburgers. Let's get there before the rush.”

“Yes!” He was so excited that he leapt back to grab the bags and his vest, digging out his phone and following behind the girls. The first thing he did was text Slip, a friend from work, a picture of his new pendant so that they could make plans to hang out later. The next thing he did was open his Q-Pid account and adjust the settings to all species again. It was more of a game of swiping for him than it was used for actual dating, but he was giddy and really wouldn't mind a date with someone right now. “Can I get a chocolate shake?”

Rose laughed, “You can get whatever you want. It's not like you have to ask. And didn't you say you were paying?”

“I know! I'm just-” He hopped in place, pocketing his phone and looking up at the clouds in the sky. “Someone get ice cream with me. Oh, let's get fries to share.”

“Rose, we've created a monster.”

* * *

Poe's sleep schedule really was screwed and meeting up with Jess for coffee probably didn't help. It was 10 in the morning and he was still awake. At least he had a few days off to fix it.

BB-8 purred as she jumped into bed, meowing at him and butting his head. “Yeah, I'm not asleep,” he muttered as she padded on his pillow and curled into a ball.

Well. Now what?

He picked up his phone from the night stand, thinking that several rounds of solitaire would be enough to lull him to sleep, when he remembered that the Q-Tip- Q-Pid? Cupid. Whatever. He remembered that dating thing was on his phone. Poe clicked on the icon and looked at the settings that Jess had inputted. At least his picture didn't look horrid. He had a smile on his face from laughing at her at the time.

Then he rolled his eyes at himself. Who cares about the picture?

Poe clicked on the matches button and someone's picture came up. He blinked, noticing the name, age, species, and little summary about them. Not really bothering to read it, he moved his finger over the screen to the left. And then panicked. What if that person knew that someone rejected him? Oh shit, were they supposed to find out? Was there a certain number he could say no on before the program locked him out for being a dick and making people cry?

He glanced at BB-8, but she didn't seem to have any answers. Texting Jess was right out. She'd just laugh at him. Poe took a breath, looked at the next picture, squeezed his eyes shut, and swiped left. Hopefully this wasn't him being mean. He opened his eyes, seeing a man with a big frown on his face. With a groan, Poe swiped left again.

After about ten left swipes, he figured that the quota for being an asshole was either very large or didn't exist, so he just continued. He'd take a glance at someone else and swipe left. Swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe, swi-

He paused, staring into the face of a very handsome man with a _huge_ smile. Poe glanced down at the information but didn't let his eyes linger long enough for him to read it before looking back at the guy's face... He cleared his throat, turned the phone off, put it back on his bedside table, and rolled over, willing sleep to take him quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I haven't written any fics in awhile! I got a new job that's pretty time consuming a few months ago. I'm telling you this because the updates on this little fic might be few and far between. We'll find out! That said, I feel like I haven't written anything in forever and that the words are coming out clunky. Here's hoping that works itself out as we go on.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy it. Have a good one!
> 
> (You may be asking how a mermaid has a working phone underwater. The answer is the magic of fanfiction.)


	2. Chapter 2

He was moaning through the second bite of his rainbow roll when Rey spoke up. “Finn, sweetheart, I have to ask.” He hummed, mouth full, eyes popping open to look at the girls sitting across from him.

This was actually his second roll. Plus they had the appetizer and the soup and the crab salad and hopefully desert coming shortly, but only just now did Rey look concerned about something. Rose, sitting beside her, seemed to catch on first even if she was awkward about it. “I wasn't going to ask...”

“Is this-” Rey continued, Finn's eyes darting between them. “I mean, you're- Finn, you're a fish eating fish.”

Rose straight up guffawed at the admission, making Finn lose it, too. At least he managed to swallow first. “Rey, girl, what do you think I eat _all_ day out at sea?”

“I-” Her eyes went wide and there was a pause before she loudly gasped. “You eat-!”

Rose butted in, thankfully. “Don't you get tired of fish, then? Shouldn't you want... a steak? A salad? Waffles?”

“Yeah, but have you _tried_ this?” he asked, pointing his chopsticks down at his plate. “I can't believe fish can taste like this. It's not even cooked.” To make his point, he popped another piece in his mouth and practically melted. Nothing beat his favorite sushi bar. “It's so good,” he moaned again.

Rey shook her head and went back to her own meal. “Well, Birthday Boy, have any big plans now that you've got a pendant again?”

Finn shrugged but at least it was a happy shrug. “No idea really. Kinda just wanna meet people, you know? I wanna go back to the park, too. Oh, did they ever open up that museum? I wanna do that.”

“They did open it,” Rose laughed. “I haven't been but I heard there's not much in there yet.”

“That's fine,” he happily replied, choosing his next piece carefully. “I'm down.”

Rey chuckled. “You usually are.”

“So,” Finn started, not minding in the least that he was practically smothering his next piece in soy sauce, “what have you two been up to? We haven't gotten to talk much lately.” Which was less because of his lost pendant and more because of his work hours. With the seasons slowing down, he expected that work time (and his pay) would start to slow, too.

Rey drew out a, “Well,” so Rose elbowed her in the ribs and talked over her. “Rey's got a new fancy job!”

“It's not fancy,” the first argued. “It's just desk work, Finny.”

Rose helpfully supplied, “Desk work at the Endor Lake Airport.”

“What!?” Finn could have jumped out of his seat. Rey had been trying to snag a job in the air for _so long_. “When did this happen? Why didn't you tell me?”

“It's not a big deal!” she said with a bit of a whine. “It really is just paper pushing. I'm no closer to a plane than I was before. Eat your fish, cannibal.”

Finn rolled his eyes. “What _ever_ , Rey. I'm so proud of you.”

“Eat!” she pointed at his plate, blushing madly. “Stop talking. Eat.”

With a happy shared look to Rose, Finn ate and dropped the subject.

* * *

“I'm home, Sleeping Beauty!” Snap called out from the foyer, closing the door behind him. “You told me to wake you up soon as I walk in, so this is me waking you up! Don't make me stick garlic under your nose!”

“I'm up!” Poe called back, finally getting a shirt on as he hopped down the stairs. “For the millionth time, garlic doesn't do shit.”

“It makes you sneeze,” the other pointed out as he dropped his bag by the couch. Before Poe could even mutter out a groan, Snap was back to mother henning. “Get any sleep in?”

“Eh,” Poe answered, _really_ not wanting to elaborate. Instead, he headed into the kitchen to find something to eat for his make shift breakfast. Sure, he needed blood to survive, but food was still food. He opened the refrigerator and started poking around. “How was work?”

Snap had followed him into the kitchen and leaned back against the wall. “Any day someone doesn't puke on you is a good day. By those standards, today was really fucking terrible.” Poe decided he suddenly didn't want hummus and tossed it into the back of the fridge. “Some sort of stomach virus swept through the elementary school downtown. First it was sad, then it was disgusting, then it was just sad again. A couple of the little turds have to stay over night.”

“You're not carrying it around are you?”

“If anyone on this planet is carrying that virus, it's me,” Snap groaned. “I took two showers at the hospital. I'm considering a third before we go.”

Seeing _absolutely_ nothing that he wanted to eat, Poe closed the fridge again. “Whatever makes you feel sanitary, man.”

“Maybe if I molt my skin off and drown in bleach,” he mumbled to himself, already headed for the bathroom.

Poe did love Snap, dearly, but he worried about this job of his. Humans have made good for themselves for centuries, but now that every species was out from under their rocks, there were a lot of things floating around that humans just weren't equipped to handle anymore. Like being an ER nurse and a part-time EMT. But if any human could do it, it was Snap, and he did it every day.

Instead of eating, Poe opened to fridge again and took out a proper and bloody drink for himself, deciding to just put together a shopping list.

Several minutes later, Snap reemerged with civilian clothes over his very pink skin. “I'm scrubbed raw. You ready?”

“Think so,” Poe hummed to himself, grabbed the list, and headed out with his friend into the twilit evening. He was uncharacteristically quiet on the drive, staring at his paltry list and chewing on his bottom lip. He stayed quiet as they got to the parking lot, walked into the store, and started browsing the aisles.

Snap finally decided to break the spell as he leaned against their shopping cart. “You met with Jess early this morning, yeah? She okay?”

“She's good,” Poe shortly answered, tossing his favorite cereal into the cart.

“What about work? They call you back early?”

“Nope,” he said, throwing in coffee.

Snap tapped his finger on a shelf, pretending to study the Mac 'n' Cheese boxes, before finally giving up. “All right, man. What's-?”

“You think mermaids are vegetarians?”

“I-” Snap paused, whatever train of thought he had was thrown off the rails as Poe moseyed over to the fruits and vegetables. “What?”

“They have real sharp teeth, right?” Poe failed to elaborate. “So they must be carnivorous, but they're also part of the whole ecosystem and it just seems rude to presume. There's lots of scary shit down there. Maybe it's for protection.”

“Poe-”

“What vegetables you think they like? I'm cutting fruits down right now. Just seems too sweet. Maybe-... I don't know. Do water chestnuts have anything to do with water? Shit, it's been like nine years since I prepared a meal.”

“Aren't those kind of like a... soggy turnip or- Poe, what the hell's going on? And you made dinner like three nights ago, by the way.”

Poe just kind of... stood in the middle of the aisle and whined, looking strangely overwhelmed. “I have _no idea_ what I'm doing.”

“Yeah, that makes two of us,” Snap said as he moved a little closer. “Who's the mermaid?”

“Who?” Poe turned so fast that he probably could have gotten whiplash had he still been alive. “No one. I don't know a mermaid. I'm just- I'm browsing.” At the unimpressed look he was receiving, he just started sputtering. “There's no one! It's nothing. I was just curious.”

“You met a guy.”

“I did _not_ meet a guy.”

“Jess introduce you?”

“... From a certain point of view-”

“So you did meet a guy!”

“I didn't-” Poe dragged a hand over his face and just decided to come clean. “You ever hear of Q-Pid?”

Snap laughed so loud and so suddenly that a few other late night shoppers turned around the stare. While the vampire tried and failed to wave them off in a pathetic form of damage control, Snap asked a bit _too_ loudly, “You're using a dating app? _You?_ ”

“ _Snap-_ ”

“You still type the 'www' before web addresses! How are you navigating a dating app?”

“You just swipe! It's not hard!” Never mind that Jessika had to explain what a _swipe_ was. Regardless, that put Snap into a whole new fit of giggles. “It's not important anyway! I don't even know what I'm doing!”

“Okay, okay-” Snap took a couple of deep breaths to still himself. “Okay, so... you're using... a _dating app_.” He almost lost it but held steady. “And now you met a guy-”

“No, I haven't met him.”

“Well, you've talked to him-”

“I haven't talked to him.”

Snap paused and blinked. “Well, you're... at least matched or whatever.”

“Well, I-” Poe looked at the floor, glanced at his feet, scuffed his shoe against the tile. “I haven't exactly... done... anything.”

“You haven't even contacted him at all yet?” Poe wouldn't meet his eyes, so Snap just started laughing again, this time far more controlled. “And here I used to think vampires were all _masters of seduction_.”

He could be. Well, he used to be able to. That was before blood and blood-by-products were mass produced. He hardly needed to charm people anymore. Not that he was proud of his exploits back in the day, but- Whatever. The point. “I might be a little rusty.” Especially when it came to romance. Geez, how long has it actually been since he had someone to _be_ with?

“A _little_?” the other huffed, moving along the aisle. “I'm surprised it hasn't fallen off.”

“I'm not _celibate_.”

“They eat meat,” Snap continued, ignoring Poe. “Well, the ones that don't choose to be vegans and stuff, anyway. They eat meat like anyone else. But maybe you should... speak to him before planning a seven course meal?”

Poe grimaced and glanced back to the vegetables in their little crates and little bags and- What _was_ he doing? “Nah, it's no big deal.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and followed his roommate.

“You're not even gonna speak to him?”  
  
“Jess downloaded that thing. Not me.”

“You didn't delete it.”  
  
“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

* * *

Finn didn't want to go back in the water yet. He had told Rey and Rose that he wanted to walk the beach a bit before officially slipping back in, turning down their generous offers to stay at one of their places for the night. He really did need to go back to his own place for the work day tomorrow but he didn't want to go just yet.

He laid flat on the sandy and quiet beach, watching the moon and stars high above, the water reaching up to lap at his feet as a way to remind him of where he had to be. This was just... so nice. Being on land, not getting uncomfortable about it, being able to _walk around_. It was the dream. He could even sleep right there if he wanted to... and didn't have to work in the morning.

His eyes had closed at some point, the warm sand getting way too comfortable in the moment. He didn't want to leave but he couldn't exactly fall asleep here... Finn rolled and patted himself down until he finally found and pulled out his phone. The least he could do was distract himself from falling asleep and somehow find the motivation to rise and get in the water.

He checked Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat before clicking on Q-Pid. Everything else was business as usual, but he had changed his settings that morning so maybe there was something a little different in there.

A few swipes and it seemed like just more of the same, except most of these people had legs instead of tails. But then he came across one that gave him pause. A ruggedly handsome man that looked not much older than himself smiled at the camera in a diner with a cigarette in his hand. He shouldn't really find the smoking as sexy as he did, but- Finn glanced at the bottom and nearly bugged his eyes out at the age. 203. That's pretty up there as far as the immortal crowd went. Finn whistled and kept reading. _Pilot_. Check. _Down to earth intellectuals_. Eh. _Clichés_. Super check. _Cat videos_. Ultra check. _Cary Grant_. Sold.

With a big and excited smile, Finn swiped right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Poe unlocked the apartment door, and he and Snap carried in their groceries. He could have probably gotten them all by himself but sometimes Snap treated him like the old man he really wasn't and tried to take most work loads for himself. The act wasn't annoying enough (and Poe was just not active enough) for him to make his young friend stop.

His pocket made some sort of twinkling-pinging-wind chime-ish sound as the door closed behind them. He often ignored the weird sounds his phone made, but that was a new one so curiosity basically demanded that he check. Snap passed him by as he paused in the doorway of the kitchen to take his phone out, noticing it was blinking a blue light at him. There was a new notification he hadn't seen anything like before with the same moon symbol as the Q-Pid app. He opened it.

_Finn Midae has been matched with you through Q-Pid™! Love is in the moonlit air! ♥_

“What?” he muttered beneath his breath when the phone pinged again and another notification popped up.

_Finn Midae has sent you a message through Q-Pid™! The love bug bites! ♥_

Incredibly confused, he closed the notifications and opened the app only to find a little red envelope and a red heart dancing and twirling on the top right side of his screen, one on top of the other. Shaking his head, he clicked on the little heart and the person he had been matched with popped up.

He dropped the grocery bag, probably crushing the Oreo's on the bottom and actually not caring at all. It was _the_ guy. The mermaid guy. It was the mermaid guy. He was matched with the mermaid guy. The mermaid guy matched them.

“Um, dude?”

Poe shoved his phone into Snap's chest. “What does that say!? What does it mean?”

“Uhh...” Snap blinked at the phone while Poe tried not to bite his nails or pull his hair out. It couldn't be what he thought he saw, right? These new websites and online places were always tripping him up, making him see what he wanted yet wasn't actually there. This _couldn't_ be real. He wasn't even sure he _wanted_ this. “Huh,” Snap muttered and hummed and raised an eyebrow before trying to hand the phone back. “Looks like someone likes you.”

“It's that guy?” Poe asked, pointing at the screen, trying not to panic. “Is it that guy?”

“Yes?” Snap looked at the phone and back to him. “If I'm reading it right, then he's-” He paused, the pieces coming together. Poe could have dug a hole with his bare hands and stayed there for the next decade. “Oh my God. Oh my _God_ , this is the mermaid! He's the mermaid, isn't he? He's the mermaid?”

“No!”

“He sent you a message, too, I thi-”

Poe swiped the phone out of the other's hand and threw it out of the kitchen.

Snap watched it sail away and out of sight. “That was a little bit of an over reaction.”

Now Poe's hands were pulling at his hair. “What do I do? I don't even know what to say. I can't do anything. I haven't courted anyone in decades, probably even a century. I don't even know how long it's been. This is how bad it is. What do I do? I'm too old for this. What do I do?”

“Did you just unironically say the word _courted_?”

BB-8 meowed at their feet, making Poe jump and nearly yell, before he landed in one of the kitchen chairs with a groan.

* * *

Finn swam as fast as he could which was a joy in and of itself with his new favorite pendant tucked _securely_ between his chest and the vest. The sun was just about to rise over the waves, schools of tiny and colorful fish were beginning to make their way across the ocean floor, and it was definitely one of his top ten mornings so far. Yeah, he had to go to work, but at least it was a nice day for working.

He came up fast on the little boat and swam beneath it to the starboard side before popping up out of the water. “Ahoy, landlubbers!”

A voice on the ship snorted in laughter before a lantern and Slip appeared on the side. “Someone's in a a good mood. Happy belated birthday, Finn. You do anything fun?”

“Rey and Rose took me out to eat,” he happily gloated. “Niner up there with you?”

There was a groan from the general direction of the helm. “It's illegal to be chipper this early, Finn,” the captain of the vessel, Nick, answered back.

“Somehow I don't believe that,” he answered back.

Just then Lloyd, the last of their four man crew, popped up beside Finn in the water. He shook his head, sputtered for a second, and let out a groan that rivaled Niner's. “Can I go home early? Like, right now?”

“Nope,” Niner answered, his heavy footfalls going across the deck before entering the lantern's light with Slip, leaning against the railing on the gunwale. “Not unless we finish early anyway.”

Lloyd looked confused but too tired to put it together, so Finn went ahead and asked. “They put out a lower limit already?”

“Just heard about it this morning, yeah,” he answered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Finn groaned, but Lloyd was ready to be deadpan. “Oh no. Whatever will we do? Guess we'll just have to,” he shrugged, “sleep for the next eight months.”

They all huffed and groaned at him, rolling their eyes. Lloyd wasn't exactly the most excited to work out of the bunch nor was he very good at it (they nicknamed him _Zeroes_ for a reason), but his incredibly keen senses were nearly critical for them to stay on top of the game these days. Speaking of- Lloyd perked up and turned to the west. “Who's your friends?”

“Friends?” Niner asked, looking in that direction, just as a fog horn echoed off the water and a spot light hit their boat. “Oh, fuck me,” he muttered, shielding his eyes.

“I think that's-” Lloyd squinted at the slightly bigger boat approaching them. “Yeah, that's Ben.”

The police boat pulled in along the starboard, putting Finn and Lloyd between the two. The spotlight moved around and was slung away to be replaced with flashlights. Predictably, it was indeed Ben Solo with three other officers.

Nick spoke up first. “Wanna see my license and registration, officer? How fast was I speeding?”

“Cut it out,” Ben sniffed at them, deigning Finn and Lloyd with hardly a glance. “We're just out here making sure no one's night fishing.”

All four of Finn's group looked to the east, noting the first few rays of the sun peaking out as the sky turned from a dark blue to a dark gray. Regardless of that rather obvious fact, Nick turned back to officers and calmly said, “We always come out here early to get set up, Ben, just like _everyone_ else. We haven't started yet.” With that, he waved back to the nets and lines, still _obviously_ in the boat.

Ben looked at the nets with disinterest and back down to the mermaids still bobbing in the water. He sneered. “Perhaps it's your work environment that gives such suspicion to law enforcement.”

Slip opened his mouth, but Nick beat him to it, knowing too well the other went off too easily around others. “Tell me that again when you're off duty, officer. We'll have a talk about it.”

Though Ben sneered, he didn't take the bait. Two of the guys with him were people that Finn didn't recognize and they both visibly looked uncomfortable. He sort of felt bad for them but was happy that something was holding the impending fight back regardless. “Sure,” Ben clipped back after too long of a silence. “Maybe we'll do that. For now, we're moving on. Don't cause trouble.”

“Wouldn't dream of it,” Nick replied, watching Ben walk down the boat.

After a few orders were barked, Ben and his little troop sped their boat off without another word. It left the four in silence for a second, the only sounds being the echo of Ben's motor and birds waking up to start the day. It was Finn that broke it with a grimace. “You shouldn't provoke him, Nick.”

“The guy's a prick,” he grumbled, pushing off the railing and moving towards the nets. “The only reason an asshole like that has any sort of job is because of his-”

“Because of his _parents_ ,” Slip interrupted before the two mermaids could. “We know. We all know. You remind us every four hours on the dot.”

“He's just such a _dick_ ,” Niner nearly yelled, kicking something that was probably an ice chest or a bucket from the sound of it bouncing around. “We work tooth and nail to keep this piece of crap floating while an asshole like that gets shit handed to him and he doesn't even fucking-”

“Dude!” Lloyd called over the side of the boat. “Chill, man. You're stressing me out. I'm gonna break out if you keep this up.”

He was trying to lighten the mood, and Finn thought that was a great idea. Nick had the terrible habit of making _himself_ more angry than the situation often called for. “Besides, we hadn't finished talking about my birthday anyway. I ate sushi! And they got me this!” He pulled out his new pendant to show off.

Lloyd coo'd over the gift, but he had had his own for years and wasn't terribly beside himself about it. “I didn't know about all that. Happy birthday.”

“Thanks! I-”

“Did you-?” They looked back up, happy to see that Nick was leaning against the railing again next to Slip. “Did you say you ate sushi?”

“Yeah!”

“Do you know what sushi _is_?”

Finn and Lloyd glanced at each other before he looked back up. “No. What?”

Slip laughing his ass off ruined the prank, but Niner's face for a few brief seconds was priceless.

The sun rose a bit higher in the sky, but Niner watched the on-board navigational clock to the second before he allowed them to start, still muttering beneath his breath about the earlier encounter. He and Slip hauled the cages over the side, and Finn and Lloyd followed them down to the bottom where the crabs liked to hang out.

It wasn't exactly Alaskan fishing, nor was it strictly necessary for mermaids to be on hand, but they weren't in it for the dangerous big money and the mermaids helped to catch way more than they would have otherwise. Everyone got paid and everyone got to eat. It was a win-win scenario for them, even if they just sold out locally.

Finn liked his job, though, and said so when Slip prodded him about it. They were taking an early lunch break, and he had hauled himself onto the open stern of the boat, pendant in his vest pocket, lying on his back in the sunny morning. That is, until Slip blocked his light. “Why are you asking, anyway?” Finn wondered, squinting up at him.

“Well, they're finishing that new dam up soon,” he continued nonchalantly, like he was totally hiding something. “I heard they're going to have job openings, especially for folks who like to swim.”

Lloyd pulled himself up next to Finn and flopped down on his stomach. “I don't know if you're aware,” he interjected, “but dams are one of the last places we care to be at. Closely followed by water spouts and whirlpools.”

“Now you're just dramatic,” Slip said with a roll of his eyes. “Besides, it sounds like good money.”

While he and Lloyd argued, Finn looked around to notice that Nick was doing something with the maps, basically leaving him by himself again. A better job wouldn't be a terrible thing, but he did really like this one and he didn't want to lose the friends he made.

Really, maybe it all just spun down to the fact that he was lonely at heart. Rey and Rose were amazing friends, but they were on land. Slip and Nick were kind of the same but much more work oriented. Then there was Lloyd, who worked two jobs and stayed in isolation for the rest of the time, the introvert that he was. Finn was _not_ an introvert but he didn't have much choice in the matter. He had no family. What family he did have, Phasma, hardly made contact with him unless she needed something. He wasn't one to wallow in pity, though. He was a firm believer that staying active and keeping on a smile meant staying actually happy, but it could get rough sometimes.

Finn patted himself down until he found and pulled out his phone, checking his messages for the first time since work began. Nothing. He opened Q-Pid. Nothing. The frown he tried to force away came out more as a grimace. But no, that's fine, and he wasn't going to dwell on it. There were millions of reasons and few boiled down to _everyone on this planet hates me_ or whatever. He huffed, scrolled through his profile for half a second, before closing out of the app and resting his phone on his chest. He was _not_ going to reread the message he sent to What's-his-face the Vampire last night. He wasn't going to put himself through all that. It was fine. Water off his back and the whole deal. When he had time later, he'd look through matches again and pick out some of the other guys that-

His phone chimed in his hand.

Without getting too excited, because what are the odds, Finn looked at his phone.

_Poe Dameron has sent you a message through Q-Pid™! True love is on the horizon! ♥_

Finn squealed, tail flopping against the ship's hull (and scaring everyone though he didn't notice), and he sat up to read the messages. First, the one he sent: _Hi, Poe! My name's Finn. I'm a mermaid if you couldn't tell. Just got a new pendant to walk around on solid ground with again, though. :) How are you?_

And Poe's brand new response: _I'm good! I'm new to this app, though. It's nice to meet you. How are you doing?_

“You still use that?”

Finn hid his phone against his chest, turning a mocking scowl to Niner's grin. “I know how to have fun.”

“Right,” Nick chuckled and walked off, leaving Finn alone to happily type up a reply.

* * *

It took the _entire night_ for Poe to get up the courage to look at his phone, look at the message, decide to reply, and to actually reply. Every stage was met with copious amounts of moaning and groaning that even he himself was ashamed of. He went through several different messages, some that went way too far over the accepted character count, some that were just one word. He tried using emojis and that just didn't work out. Then he realized that half of the keys on the left side of his phone didn't work on the first try anymore (probably because the screen had a huge crack in it now but he wasn't going to worry about that just yet).

Regardless of all that, he had _finally_ typed up a reply and tossed the phone across the floor again, leaning back against his bed and letting out a massive breath. “We did it, Bee.” The cat had been his solitary companion throughout the whole ordeal, even if she had fallen asleep on his pillow at some point.

“Did what?” Snap asked from the doorway.

Poe jumped, noting that his friend was in just boxers and socks, apparently eating cereal out of the bowl in his hand. “Don't do that!”

“Yeah, because I'm the most terrifying thing in this house.”

“Whatever,” he groaned and leaned back again. “Why are you up so early?”

“Not up. Just taking a break between naps,” he clarified, walking further into the room and eyeing the phone. “So... you only _just now_ sent a reply?”

“I finally had time to get around to it,” Poe answered, going around the obvious. Snap was already treating him like a terrified child over the whole thing. He didn't need more of that. “It doesn't matter anyway. It's late for me. I need a shower then I'm gonna-”

His phone made the wind chime-ping-twinkle-ish sound, and Poe froze, staring at the blinking blue light practically in horror.

“Well!” Snap sighed loudly and turned on his heel to leave. “I think I'm going to go do literally anything else. Have fun!”

Poe stared at the phone a minute and whimpered. _Now what?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought I'd give a new twist to Zeroes, Nines, and Slip. They're actually going to be regular old decent people in this. I know, it's wild. We'll manage. Again, the names were made up by the fine people of the SWWA. ♥ Also, my understanding and practice with fishing for crabs is not very broad. Let me know if I'm way wrong about details and it's a bother. I'll fix stuff. 
> 
> I think this fic is going to be pretty long... I never intend for these things to happen...
> 
> By the way, if you have any millennial quirky sayings for the Q-Pid app's notifications, please hit me with them. I'm trying to make them supernaturally and cute but also embarrassing. I am determined to have a new saying for every notif.


	4. Chapter 4

Finn hummed to himself on the beach side, reclining against some rocks and letting the waves wash against his tail. It was too lovely of a night to go to bed early, though he had nothing else to do except wait for messages to come in.

If word was to be believed, vampires slept during the day. While that was all well and good, Poe had periodically sent him messages throughout the day except for that afternoon, though he had sent some after dusk. The point, Poe was slow about replying. This was totally okay with Finn other than the fact that he worried that he was replying _too_ fast. He had tried in vain to wait at least a full twenty minutes to reply after getting a message but had yet to make it to five.

This was exciting. Sure, he didn't really know a lot about Poe yet, but the guy was very interesting. He worked at a small airport, so that was neat. He knew how to play some instruments, too, so that was swoon worthy. Despite the fact that Poe seemed interesting and that Finn was excited to know more about him, he still wasn't sure about the guy yet. He seemed nice, though. Very polite. Certainly just as stilted and unsure about the app (and apparently modern technology as a whole) as he had claimed to be.

Regardless, Finn found himself contently and happily waiting for Poe's next reply. He wasn't letting himself fret and get nervous about it, which was nice, though he also wasn't beside himself with anticipation. Poe would get back to him eventually, he knew. The wait in-between was somehow like a comfortable silence.

He continued humming to himself with some little song that was stuck in his head, watching the moon and stars reflect off of the water, and letting his mind wander to what a vampire did with their day. He imagined Poe was a very busy person, probably knew so _much_ about life and his profession. What would a person like that do in their free time? What kind of date would they enjoy? If there would be a date (and oh Finn was hopeful) then he would gladly let Poe set the day and terms. He seemed to be much more composed of himself and his life, besides the busy schedule he must adhere to.

His humming was cut short by the phone on his stomach chiming at him. He picked it up and looked at the notification.

_Poe Dameron has sent you a message through Q-Pid™! Cherub's arrow has been launched! ♥_

Finn leaned back on the rock again and resumed his happy humming, opening Poe's most recent message: _I'm not sure about what movie I would consider my favorite, but I really enjoyed North By Northwest the first time I saw it. Though I like recent movies a lot, too._

Poe was also short with his replies and sometimes a little vague. Finn felt no shame in having to google the movie mentioned before realizing it was the one with Cary Grant versus the airplane. Right, he had seen bits of that. With a smile, he wrote up his own reply: _I've seen parts of that one! But I'm sorry. That's a really hard question to answer, huh? I don't know if I could pin down my favorite movie. The new Mad Max was great, though, lol. :)_

After hitting send, Finn set his phone back against his stomach and went back to stargazing, still humming to himself on this wonderful night.

* * *

Poe sat cross legged on the foot of his bed, staring in silence at the dark and cracked phone on his pillow. He had sent a message off not very long ago, but Finn was pretty quick about responding. He couldn't decide if he panicked more typing them up or after the message was sent.

Finn could have asked him about the meaning of life for all he knew what his favorite movie was. It took forever for him to come up with an answer. And, sure, he did like North By Northwest a great deal, but it probably wasn't his favorite. His favorite was probably... Titanic or something. The Princess Bride. Labyrinth. Going older, maybe Double Indemnity or It's A Wonderful Life or definitely Arsenic and Old Lace. But he didn't really consider those _impressive_ enough. What would the guy think of him? A two hundred year old vampire's favorite movie is about two idiots who can't figure out how to float on a door? No. No, he could not do that. He just hoped his answer was good enough.

Who knew getting back on the market would be so stressful?

He and the cat sat side by side, staring at the phone and waiting patiently for it to go off. Every second that ticked by made Poe just slightly more tense. What if Finn didn't like that answer? What if he thought that was a terrible movie? What if that was a make or break question? What if he was being judged right now on what kind of person he was based on the answer of his favorite movie?

Poe took a deep breath and let it out slowly, his lungs burning from holding his breath for so long. It didn't matter. He didn't know the guy, not really. Never put eyes on the guy in his life for all he knew. What did it matter if he did or didn't like Poe? Or maybe he just wanted to be liked by anyone. Maybe hiding from relationships for so long had made him more afraid of them than he had realized. Maybe he just wanted to know if he could still _be_ liked.

Stars above, it had been _so long_.

His phone chimed, and Poe jumped and nearly yelped at the sound. He pounced forward and grabbed it up as quick as he could, turning it on to check the message as if there was some sort of countdown on the thing. The message's meaning registered on the third read, and he blinked down at the cat, baffled on what he could possibly reply with.

“Um-”

He jumped again, turning to see Snap standing in his bedroom door, still in hospital scrubs after just getting home from work, looking just as baffled. “You're not still-? Dude, did you even sleep?”

“Course, I slept,” he quickly defended, cradling the phone closer.

Snap nodded. “Oh, okay. I just thought you didn't because you're still wearing the same clothes... and you're still in the same spot... still staring at the phone.”

He slept for an entire four hours. That was _plenty_. Didn't matter. He jumped off the bed. “Did you know there's a new Mad Max movie?”

“Yes, Poe, I have gone outside in the last three years. Thanks for asking.”

“Is it any good?” he asked, not even bothering to humor his friend's sarcasm.

Snap's only reaction was to sigh and lean against the doorway. “Yeah, it's good. Loads of people like it. Explosions and cars and all that. Why?”

Poe sat back down on the bed and looked at his phone, rereading the message again. Finn hadn't asked him a follow up question, and he was too afraid to come up with one of his own. (What if he touched a nerve? What if he crossed a personal line?) But he didn't know anything about- “I need to watch the movie.” Yes. Yes, okay. That would work. That was the only possible thing he could do right now to keep the conversation flowing. “I need to watch it right now,” he said, standing up and looking for some pants. “I gotta go to Blockbuster.”

“Block-” Snap put a hand on his forehead and very slowly rubbed down his face. “Why don't you just use Netflix?”

“I don't know how,” he grumbled, tugging a shirt on. “Blockbuster's easier.”

“Somehow I don't think it will be,” he replied and pushed away from the door, not about to get into that argument. Again. “I'll cue it up on Netflix for you, old man. How's that sound? I brought home some Chinese, too, so no dinner making tonight.”

He could have _cried_ in joy. Instead, he yelped again and wrapped Snap in a big hug that the other guy didn't look entirely prepared for. “You're the best! Did you get-?”

“Yes, I got your weird little egg roll thingies. No, I'm not contaminated by any gross kids.”

Poe stepped back and cringed, forgetting about yesterday, but happy that he dodged the proverbial bullet all the same. “Okay,” he said, wiping his hands on his shirt. “Okay, dinner and a movie. Okay.”

Snap couldn't help but laugh as he started walking back to the kitchen. “This guy better treat you half as good as I do.”

He rolled his eyes and grabbed his phone, psyching himself up to message Finn back as _soon_ as the movie ended so that everything was still fresh in his mind. And hopefully he could pretend that he already saw this movie ages ago. Yeah, that'll work. Instead of panicking, he followed the smell of food back to the kitchen.

They snatched up the food, grabbed some drinks (each a beer while one had an extra bottle of B negative to spare), settled onto the couch, fiddled with the remote, and began watching a movie. Poe had somehow found himself into it and jumped when his phone went off again. By that time, he had already ate and was half through his synthetic blood concoction, Snap having left to shower a bit earlier. A little scared that it was Finn again, Poe worriedly checked only to find relief when it was a text from Jess.

_Tony turned out to be a dud. What are you up to tonight?_

A dud. The guy she met on the same app that he was currently trying to navigate was a dud. Poe blinked, trying not to twitch, and texted her back.

_What do you mean a dud? What happened? Was he a jerk? Was it the app's fault? I need details._

He stared at the dark screen for maybe thirty seconds, completely forgetting about the film in the meantime, until she texted him back.

… _It just didn't work out? You okay?_

He was chewing on his lip and trying to think of a response when another message came in.

_OH MY GOD ARE YOU USING Q-PID_

There were several little happy crying faces in her message, and Poe shifted in place before replying back.

_No I'm not I was just asking geez get off my back and even if I was then it would not be a big deal anyway because you put it on my phone and told me to use it so what if I was using it like then it would be all your fault right so ha what do you have to say now that's right check and mate_

That probably was not the most convincing detour he ever did but Poe put his phone in between the couch cushions and stared at the TV, waiting for Jess to inevitably text him back and prompt him to dig in the sofa to make a reply.

Instead, she didn't text back. Snap came back in the living room, sat down, and stared at Poe for a full minute before asking, “You okay, dude?”

“I'm fine,” he answered too quickly and cleared his throat. “Anyway, the stunts are neat in this movie, huh?”

“Yeah,” Snap sighed, “and you need to work more on deflecting conversations.”

He whined back but got back into the movie regardless.

They were nearing the end when there was a knock on the door. Even though the hour was late, neither of them were too worried about a visitor, except for the cat maybe. Since Poe was into the movie, Snap got up and answered it. Poe was able to hear from somewhere behind him, “Oh, hey, Jess! Come on in!”

“ _No!_ ” Poe yelped but it was already too late.

Happily invited in, Jess stood behind the couch near the front door with a devilish grin. “Where's your phone?”

She was younger than him, faster than him, sometimes smarter than him. This was not good. He glanced around and found nothing that could help. “I don't have a phone.”

Snap, cleared of his confusion, stood beside Jess. (He was wise not to get in front of her.) “Uh-uh. No. We _just_ got that couch. It's not exactly _new_ but we just got it like two months ago. No.”

“Dameron, where's your phone?”

He sunk further into the cushions, wincing. “I don't have a phone.”

“Don't,” Snap repeated. “Do not.”

Jess lunged for Poe anyway, tackling him off of the couch like a bullet and pinning him down, searching him. When she very quickly realized it wasn't on him and was somewhere on the couch, the cushions started flying as he tried to make her stop. “No, Jess!” he whined as she found it, even as he pinned her. While he was stronger, she was still faster, and had already bucked him off and kicked him to the far side of the room as she scampered towards the kitchen with her prize. “ _Uugh_ , fuck,” he groaned, opting to just lie flat on the floor instead of chasing her down. To hell with it.

Snap let out a sigh as he went around the room collecting cushions. “At least she didn't tear anything up. You know, you didn't _have_ to tell her that you had started using that app.”

“I _didn't_ ,” he huffed.

Jess' voice drifted in from the kitchen. “Who's Finn?”

That got a chuckle out of Snap. “The mermaid's name is Finn? Really?”

“No one!” Poe yelled back, covering his face.

That obviously didn't stop her. Jess bounced back into the living room with a huge smile, one that was more happy than deadly this time, as she read Poe's latest message out loud. “I'm not sure about what movie I would consider my favorite, but I really enjoyed North By Northwest the first time I saw it. Though I like recent movies a lot, too... Aw, you're so cute. Is this why you're watching Mad Max?”

Snap glanced at the TV. “ _Is_ this why we're watching Mad Max?”

“Finn said it's his favorite,” she said with a little smirk, waving the phone around before looking back at it again. “This kid texted you over an hour ago, Poe. Why haven't you sent a reply yet?”

His roommate let out a huff and rolled his eyes. “An hour would be a new record. It took him the entire night to reply the first time.”

Meanwhile, Poe was rubbing his temples as hard as he could, back still pressed against the hardwood floor. “Guys, I just wanted to watch the movie first before I said anything back.”

“Well, you watched most of it,” Jess said, sitting down on part of the couch that hadn't gotten the cushion replaced yet. “What do you think so far?”

“I don't know, it's-” He sighed and resigned himself to this life, flopping his forearm over his eyes. “It's a pretty good movie. Gotta admit, I was pretty _distracted_.”

“Okay, so...” Jess paused and Snap let out a chuckle before she continued. “I like Mad Max a lot, but I just recently watched it with friends and couldn't really catch the whole thing. Can't wait to see it again. How's that sound? That good?”

“Good?” He lifted his arm. “Good for what?” It took a very long second for him to realize that the little sound his phone made meant that it just sent a message. He blinked and stared in disbelief, sure that his friends would never do such a thing except- except they would. They would. They so would. “ _Jess!_ ” Poe screeched, suddenly up and shuffling over to her on his knees. “You didn't! Tell me you didn't! Please! How could you!?”

At least Snap looked a little guilty.

Jess didn't. “Dramatic much?” she asked with a raised brow. “Look, you're clearly having a ton of trouble texting this poor kid. I'm here to help. Besides, it says you two have been talking since last night, right? And you're Mr. Meet-People-Face-To-Face so the fact that it's been over twenty-four hours-...”

“I can't,” he practically gasped back. “I don't know how. I don't know what to do. I don't even know how long it's been.”

“Then why are you texting him at all?”

“I-” His mouth hung open, trying and failing hard at forming an answer. He didn't know. He didn't want to stop. Oh no.

The phone chimed, and Jess let a little smile shine through. “Oh, look. Finn Midae has sent you a message through Q-Pid. Love _prowls_ the night!”

Poe bowed his head as Snap finally sat down beside Jess. “Is that really what that thing says? No wonder he's been so embarrassed.”

Jess, apparently having opened the message, let out a giggle. “Well, I love that movie, so I wouldn't mind sitting in on a rewatch with you whenever you like. Winky face.”

Snap looked at the phone, all but verifying the message. “I can guarantee that Poe has no idea what Netflix and chill is.”

“He did the winky face, Poe,” the other vampire said with a smile, looking back down at him. “It's time.”

Why did it sound like he was doomed or something? “It's time?”

“For you to meet him,” she clarified with a laugh.

“Maybe in public first,” Snap suggested. “Might keep Poe calm enough before he becomes the first vampire to have a heart attack.”

“Yeah, good call,” Jess agreed before typing. “How about we try dinner first? Hmm... Should I or should I not call him a stud?”

Poe choked. “ _Please_ don't!”

Jess laughed _evily_ , as she does, and continued. “How about we try dinner first? When are you free?” She stared down Poe until he gave a very small nod that he wasn't entirely sure about before she hit send.

* * *

While Finn knew that Poe was slow about replying to messages, he still stared at the phone and worried his lip. Was he being too forward? Too flirty? Poe had been so nice so far but not really flirty. Finn thought that maybe he should put himself out there, just _try_ and tell the other man that he was interested and wasn't messaging him on a dating app for nothing. But still, was it too forward? Too soon?

The next message came in at practical light speed compared to the others. He nearly dropped the phone straight into the tide when he tried to grab it and take a look. Still, Finn managed to open the message faster than the others before.

He only skimmed it about halfway before he raised his arms and let out a shriek of joyous victory. He had a date!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Poe would be the type to vehemently defend the door scene in Titanic, just fyi.
> 
> Anyway, sorry I was late about updates. Been busy! I decided to move the plot along. Lots more Finn adventures in the next chapter.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

“Okay, how about this shirt?”

Snap jerked awake, jostling Jess who was half way through their Oreo's, and squinted over at Poe. “Surely you're late by now.”

“I'm not late!” he huffed, checking his wrist watch. “I still have like twenty minutes. Now can you _please_ tell me what you think of this shirt?”

“I think it's fine,” Snap replied with a click of his tongue. “Just like the other ten thousand shirts you modeled for me this afternoon.”

Poe predictably whined and looked down at himself. “I don't know. Does it go with my shoes? Does it _have_ to go with my shoes?”

“Sweetheart,” Jess said through a mouthful of about three or four cookies before gulping them down, “you're pretty. You always look pretty. You look pretty in everything. Frankly, I'm jealous of your eyelashes. This kid is _not_ going to care about what color shirt you're wearing.”

“He _might_. You _don't know_.” He groaned and looked down at himself again before promptly going back to his room. “I'm putting the black one on again.”

Snap leaned his head back on the couch with a deep sigh. “Of course you are.”

Jess just snickered and raised her voice loud enough for Poe to hear. “Maybe you can just grease your hair back and wear a cape instead.”

“And nothing else,” Snap added.

“Can you imagine?” she outright laughed before dropping her voice to Poe's level. “Finn, I want to bite your neck.”

“I hate you both,” Poe muttered as he came back out to Snap's boisterous laugh. “All right, all right. How's this look?”

“You look fine!” they both answered, but it was Jess that stood and walked over to him. “Sweetie, you look great. He can't resist you. Which is good because you're not getting another redo. You've surpassed the quota. Do not pass Go. Do not collect-”

Poe nearly tripped over himself as Jess pushed him through the living room. “What are you-? You can't kick me out! I live here! Snap, help!”

The other man ignored him and turned the TV on. “Oh, look. The Vikings are playing. Guess I'm doing this now.”

Again, he was wise to not get in between two vampires, but still- “ _Snap!_ ”

Jess pushed him through the threshold despite his grasping hands, being sure to swipe his keys, wallet, and jacket from the small table and throwing them at him. “Now be back by eight. Say your please and thank yous. Use protection. Know that we're both so proud of you-”

“It's already past eight!”

Jess slammed the door on his face and audibly locked the deadbolt.

* * *

Finn had been a giggling mess all day. He was _very_ nervous about meeting Poe but his excitement about the whole idea put the nerves to shame. He was just so _ready_ to get out and meet people again. And Poe seemed really really cool. Finn really did hope that the other man liked him due to the slightly intimidating age difference, but the fact that Poe asked _him_ out bolstered his confidence a bit.

They had agreed that the typical dinner and a movie idea wouldn't allow them to get to know each other if they just sat in a dark room in silence for a few hours, so the plan was to eat and see where the night took them, if anywhere. He was steadfastly _not_ going to overthink this.

Just because he could, Finn walked from the beach to the small dive restaurant that they planned to meet at. Rose had thankfully brought him some clothes that was proper for a date night without snagging on his scales. The dark jeans were nice and smooth without yanking on him, the t-shirt was soft, and the leather jacket protected his arms. Then there was his amulet thumping proudly against his chest as he walked. He knew there was a smile on his face, too, but there was no helping that.

As Finn approached the restaurant, his sight almost immediately zeroed in on the figure leaning against the streetlight, fiddling with his fingers, biting his lip, looking off into the distance. That was _definitely_ Poe Dameron, if the profile picture had been anything to go by, just standing there like he'd just come off of a photo shoot. Really, the one picture Finn had seen had not done the man justice. He was _beautiful_.

And _totally_ out of Finn's league.

Ah well. Best to make the most of it.

With a one last deep breath, Finn bolstered himself and walked forward with purpose before his mind could race off without him. “Poe?”

The other man jerked his head towards him, eyes widening for a split second before his back practically popped straight. “Finn?” he asked in turn, pushing himself away from the streetlight.

At the sound of his very nice voice, Finn smiled broadly as he came to a stop in front of Poe, extending his hand. “That's me,” he answered with a little chuckle, hoping that the vampire charm stuff wasn't what was making him weak in the knees. He sort of doubted it. “It's great to meet you in person.”

“Um,” Poe mumbled awkwardly, just staring and not taking the other's hand. “Hi... Uh-” He jolted, as if coming back to himself, and finally looked down and took Finn's hand. “Yeah, sorry. It's good to meet you, too.”

Well, okay. A little weird. Can't win them all. (Poe couldn't possibly be shy around Finn. That would crazy.) In an attempt to smooth over that little bump, Finn chuckled again. “Have you been to this place before? I've only been twice.”

“Um, I've been a few times, yeah,” he answered in a rush. Poe looked at the building, the road, his shoes, Finn's shoes, Finn's jacket, the road again, and the sidewalk before he bounced in place and scratched the back of his neck. “The food's good,” he said after an awkward pause that Finn didn't have enough time to fill. “The people are nice. It's a cool place.”

“Cool,” Finn said before the other could ramble away again. “Are you hungry?”

“Ah-” The edges of Poe's lips quirked up a little before returning to normal, the closest thing Finn had seen to a smile yet. “I could eat, sure.”

There was something about trapping Poe in a public building that Finn didn't feel comfortable with yet. Or maybe he didn't want to be trapped with Poe yet. Either way, he shrugged. “I was just wondering if you wanted to take a little walk before we eat. It's up to you.”

Poe's eyes widened a margin again but he still didn't look at Finn's face. “Yeah, that's okay!” he rushed out again, just as uncomfortably as he had before. He nodded and shifted again. “Sounds good with me. Yep.”

Huh. Finn didn't know what to think about this. Any other day, he'd say that the guy was really shy and nervous, but Poe Dameron was over 200 years old and could probably give Helen of Troy a run for her money in the beauty department. Was there something else going on and this date was just bad timing? Was there some sort of mix up? Poe did say he was bad with technology. What if he asked out the wrong guy?

Ugh, Finn was thinking too much. He could still make the most of this. They both could. “So.” Finn started walking into the restaurant's parking lot, trying to figure out how to make all of this go a little better. “How long have you lived around here?” That was safe, right? Totally safe.

“Few years,” Poe answered quickly with a shrug, keeping pace beside Finn. “Well, um, probably more like ten years, actually.”

“Yeah? What brought you here?”

“Old friend. What about you?”

His goal was to get Poe talking, not the other way around, but it was nice to know that he seemed to actually care about the answer despite the lack of eye contact. “Guess I sort of grew up here,” he answered, thinking back on the past. “I kinda moved over with friends and just ended up staying. It's a nice town.”

“Yeah. Quiet.”

An awkward silence was just beginning to edge up on them, and Finn was tempted to let it happen just to see what Poe would do with it. Maybe not yet, though. That sounded a little cruel. “You been using Q-Pid for long?”

Poe laughed, _finally_ , his whole face lighting up in a brief smile that he quickly schooled away. “Yeah, no, um- No. My friend put it on my phone not long ago. Right before we, uh, started talking... actually.”

Finn just wanted to see that laugh again, see him smile again, but Poe had already put it back on lock down as if he really _was_ nervous. And hell, what if he was? Age wouldn't have anything to do with that, and Finn didn't know anything about Poe's past experiences. He decided to try another route. “I just started using it again after getting my amulet back... I'm a little bit nervous tonight, actually.”

“What?” Poe stopped in his tracks and stared up at Finn again, finally looking at him. “Why?”

Finn shrugged and went for honesty. “It's just been awhile, I guess. And you seem really cool.” _Intimidating_ was more the word, but he was trying to take the evening in stride.

Poe laughed again but without the smile, the sound totally self-deprecating. “I'm not, uh-”

“Are you nervous, too?” he interrupted. Risky, but he had an idea where that sentence was going.

They made eye contact again, Poe blinking owlishly before _very_ _distractedly_  biting his lip. “A little... I mean-” Another laugh, still self-deprecating but there was a smile now. “I mean, if that wasn't completely obvious.”

“Not really,” Finn answered honestly again. It did take him awhile to guess, after all. “Nerves are normal, right?”

“Right,” Poe seemed to agree, nodding. “How do you think we're doing so far? As well as expected?” No sooner than he had said it, the other man flinched and looked away again.

He shrugged back, purposefully smiling, trying to lighten things up. “I don't know. I think we're doing pretty good.”

Another smile was his reward as Poe ran a hand through his hair and looked up to him through his lashes, head ducked down. “I think you're doing better than me.”

“You're pretty great at this, actually,” Finn said with another little laugh.

Poe just shook his head, smile still in place. “Sorry, I'm... making it awkward. Sorry. You wanna eat?”

“You're not making it awkward,” the other defended, figuring they kind of both were, “and I'd love to eat.”

The vampire ducked his head with his cute little smile and began walking towards the doors with Finn by his side. The ice wasn't quite broken yet, but it was melting by some degree. So long as Poe kept smiling, they might just be in business.

By the time they were seated, given menus, and had their drinks on the way, Finn had come up with a loose game plan. “So what should we try to talk about before the waiter comes back?”

Poe laughed again, his smile having not completely left his face yet. “We could always talk about how I'm so bad at talking,” he said, giving his menu a once over.

“You're not bad at it,” Finn defended, not even looking at the food options.

The vampire glanced back up to him through his long lashes – _contain your swoons, Finn_ – before giving a truly dazzling smile – _CONTAIN, FINN_ – and setting his menu to the side. “Well, in that case, I guess we could talk about how you're so good at it.”

Okay, he swooned a little bit. The mermaid caught himself mid-giggle before pushing his menu aside, too, only a vague idea of what he planned to eat. “I wouldn't say that. I just like being social. Haven't had a lot of time for it lately.”

“Why?” Poe asked, propping his arms against the table and leaning in just a bit. No, he didn't seem nearly as nervous anymore.

Looked like that ball was in Finn's court actually, but he coolly – _that was cool, right? –_ shrugged one shoulder in answer and played with the chain around his neck. “Just got my new amulet,” he answered. “There's a lot more people on land. Down below, it's usually just me, myself, and the guys from work.”

“Crab fishing, right?”

Was Poe trying to turn this date around on him? “Yeah,” he said, leaning forward on the table, too. “And you're a pilot.”

The vampire's smile got a little bigger but he ducked his head again. “Yeah. I've been off this week, though. Worked days last week, and I think the boss felt sorry for me.”

Whoa, wait- “Days?” Wasn't that bad? That was bad, right?

But Poe just laughed and shook his head. “It's fine! I don't mind. Lots of vampires do, but I don't care. Been around the block so many times, I guess sunlight isn't too high on the horror list anymore.”

Finn nodded but suddenly felt the rift between them again, reminding himself how out of his depth Poe was. _200 years_. How could he begin to compete with-?

Okay, yeah, no, stopping that train of thought right now. Instead, he smiled. “I guess your night is a little like the water for me. Without the amulet's magic, I probably wouldn't last long on land, but I do it all the time... just because. Can't put life on hold, right?”

“That's what I think.” Poe's smile was more relaxed now and much more charming. “Sometimes taking leaps can pay off.”

Finn certainly hoped this one would. Despite how doubtful he was that a second date would grace him, he was still having fun and _really_ enjoying Poe's company. He could probably just bask in the moment of having the other man's undivided attention. “More often than not, I think.”

Then the waiter was at their elbows to take their order.

* * *

The little voice in Poe's head had been screaming non-stop since he and Finn shook hands. Sometimes the voice was berating, sometimes it was just squealing, other times it was just yelps of pure delight. How did he convince this guy to go on a date with him? Was Jess paying him or something? Was this some sort of elaborate set up?

To be honest, if it was a massive prank, Poe didn't care. He was enjoying the hell out of the moment, so screw what came later.

Poe had been around a great many beautiful people in his life but society's standard for beauty was quite literally only skin deep. Finn, however, was very beautiful. He talked Poe through his nerves, smiled softly, didn't judge anything about him so far, and seemed unphased by the awkward atmosphere Poe was practically projecting. There was a fear that Finn would just become more beautiful the longer they talked but that was okay. He was out of this guy's league, anyway. _Maybe_ , if Poe was _really_ lucky, they could have a short fling together. That would be nice.

Now, if only the voice in his head could calm down.

“So, I don't know about you,” Finn began, dragging Poe back from the abyss of his thoughts, “but I'm enjoying myself. Is there anywhere in particular you'd like to go?”

_Enjoying himself?_ That was a laugh. But their food was done, the meal paid for (after a brief stare down that Poe won), and it was time to get up and leave. Well, if it was his choice- “I did like our little walk. How do you feel about aeronautics?”

“I feel like you're getting somewhere with that random question,” Finn laughed.

“Well, they just opened up this new museum in town and-”

“Wait.” Finn was leaning forward now, eyes wide and visibly eager. Poe was thankful to have him pegged as a bit of a nerd. “Aren't they closed this late?”

Poe flashed a grin. “I might know somebody.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I'm just going to update this whenever I get the time to, apparently. Sorry for the long wait!
> 
> Also sorry for how clunky this chapter felt (at least to me). More of the date next time! More of Poe freaking out! And I know this fic is all fluff central but I do actually have a plot in mind that'll be happening in the coming chapters, so there's that!
> 
> Thank you for reading. :)


	6. Chapter 6

Finn had the sneaking suspicion that Poe had no idea if what he was doing was actually going to work. What's worse, the vampire looked a bit panicked over that fact. But Finn didn't know what was going on anyway, so he kept up the smile and lighthearted talk as they took their walk downtown.

They did inevitably reach the museum only to find it very much closed. It was nicer than Finn had expected it to be and bigger than what Rey and Rose had hinted at. The two story building was walled with glass with the east and west wings reaching around the front plaza like a horseshoe or sorts. Maybe they didn't have a lot yet, but there seemed to be plenty of room to expand which just made Finn more excited at the prospect.

Though the lights were very noticeably not on.

This didn't deter Poe as he continued through the plaza to the front entrance. His hands that had delved deep into his jean pockets finally came free so that he could knock on the glass door. “If this doesn't work,” Poe began with a shaky smile, “can we just forget that I tried it at all?”

Finn put on his own genuine smile. “I'd rather not, if it's all the same to you. The gesture alone is really nice.”

The other gave an awkward laugh before getting cut off by a light turning on at the front desk. A security guard who hadn't been there a moment ago walked over with her eyes glancing quickly between the two of them. She unlocked the door and poked her head out. “Poe?”

“Hey, Karé. This is Finn. Finn, Karé. She's a friend from work. Um-” He cleared his throat and seemed to have to start again, his cheeks gaining more color. “Karé, I was wondering if I could... ask you for a- a favor?”

Her eyes flicked back to Finn for a second in surprise before giving a knowing smile and opening the door wider to allow them entrance. “You don't have to ask. I'm already going to say yes.”

“Really?” Poe lit up with a wide grin and practical stars in his eyes. Finn just chided himself to not start swooning again. How could he make Poe look at _him_ like that?

“Yeah, really. Come on in,” she nodded forward, trying to will them to move. “All I ask is that you be the one to explain it to Leia.”

Poe gave another breathy laugh, not unlike the self-depreciating one he gave himself earlier. “I'll handle her, don't worry about that,” he said, walking inside with Finn at his heels. “Thank you.”

She nodded before closing and locking the door behind them. Finn took the small opportunity to shake her hand. “It's nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” she replied with a sweet smile and firm shake. With that, she headed back to the front desk. “You kids have fun. Don't get too wild.”

They both gave her an awkward laugh as they walked down the hall, Poe taking the lead, and the lights flickering on around them. As excited as Finn had been to visit the place, he'd never been to a museum that had no one else in it. The space was so quiet. “Who's Leia?” he asked to fill the silence.

* * *

Poe's mind was still screaming at him. He hadn't thought this far ahead! Asking this guy to visit a museum with him by themselves? That wasn't exactly romantic! What had he been thinking? He could practically feel the awkward tension settling in the room like a two ton weight, his mind going totally blank on how to fix it.

Thankfully, socially confident Finn had figured out how to chip a few more layers off of the ice. “Leia's the friend that I moved here for.” A glance to his walking partner seemed to indicate that he wanted to hear more, so Poe continued. “She owns the airport I work at and was a big donor for this place. I met her... _years_ ago. I don't even know how long anymore. Not too long after phones got popular, I guess. Anyway, I met her in Paris. She knew who I was. Sought me out and everything.”

Finn blinked owlishly and curiously at him, looking even younger than what he was. “Why? I mean, if you don't mind me asking.”

“I don't,” Poe smiled. “I don't even know why she looked for me. She said that she didn't know either. That fate would later make it clearer. Being the oldest fairy I know, she tends to have that way about her.”

Finn blinked again. “Wait... Wait, you mean Leia _Organa_?”

Was this a good thing or a bad thing? He decided to wing it. “Yeah. You know her?”

By the grimace that showed up on the mermaid, this was a bad thing. _Shit, shit, son of a bitch, why, ahh_ \- “No,” Finn answered, halting Poe's thoughts. “I've only ever heard of her. She seems like she does a lot of good things for this town... But I do know her son.”

Ah. Poe frowned. “I am sincerely sorry that you do. How do you know him?”

“Well, he's a cop now,” the mermaid sighed. “His favorite hobby is to get in a little speedboat with some buddies and shine spotlights on every fishing vessel he can find, especially if- well-”

“If there's people like us there.” With Finn's nod, he sighed. Ben had always been the most insecure little brat that Poe had ever met in his life. He couldn't blame the root of some of his issues, though. His mother and uncle were very powerful but his father was human. Ben seemed to lean more towards his father's genes which apparently pissed him off. Add the fact that Han Solo came back as a ghost after death, Ben was just pissed off further.

Heaven forbid he be fucking _normal_. There weren't very many days that Poe didn't want to go back to the time before he had been taken... Though, thankfully, those days were fewer now.

“I'm sorry you have to deal with him,” Poe finally added. “He's mostly talk, though. Just looking for an outlet.”

“You know what his deal is?”

“Just wants more power than he deserves.” He sighed, trying to think of a way to bring this conversation back around. “Leia's a tough old bird but she's sweet. Always wanted to collect old things, remind people what it was like back in the day, the progress we've made and all that. I'm glad she has this... Shocked it took so long but glad all the same.”

Finn seemed to like the change in topic if his smile was any indication. Then he nodded to a roped off plane sitting in the middle of the floor, one that Poe recognized well enough. “How long have you been flying anyway?”

“Would you believe that I just got my license three years ago?”

“What?”

Poe laughed at the wide-eyed shock written on the other man's face, relaxing without even realizing it. “Yeah, man. Always been _fascinated_ by aircraft, but I figured a vampire in the sky probably isn't that great of an idea. Started flying about twenty years ago and was finally convinced to go about things the legal and proper way.”

“Well, geez,” Finn sighed, putting his hands on his hips. “You're a regular spring chicken for two hundred, huh?”

There was a euphemism right on his tongue, but Poe choked it back and bumped his shoulder against Finn's instead. “Something about old dogs and new tricks, right?” he laughed. “But I definitely remember these Airacomets.”

Finn's smile fell as he blinked at Poe then blinked at the plaque, finding that was indeed the name of the craft. “Wait, really?”

“It was a long time ago,” Poe shrugged and pointed towards the kit bi-plane hanging from the ceiling. “Now, _those_ I haven't seen in action before.”

“Aw, come on,” Finn laughed. “Even I've seen those old things fly.”

What was left of the vampire's old heart managed to skip a couple of beats before he could remind himself that the guy next to him was in his twenties. Young twenties. _Calm down, cradle snatcher._

But Finn must have caught the shocked look on his face if his sly grin meant anything. “Saw them in an airshow some odd years ago.”

“Ah, now see,” Poe smirked, back to teasing so that he could push that lovely daydream out of his head. “Yet another luxury you day walkers have.”

The mermaid barked a laugh. “Oh my God, is that what we're called?”

“No, I just made that up.” As Finn laughed harder, Poe put a hand over his eyes, a mixture of pleasure and embarressment pumping through his chest. The smile on his face seemed etched on, though. “Let's- Let's move along, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Finn agreed, bumping their shoulders together to steer them further down the hallway. “So what _haven't_ you done?”

“Haven't gotten a tan in a while,” he answered, receiving a lovely little eye roll in return. Before Finn could narrow his question down, Poe pointed towards the end of the hall. “Haven't done that.”

“Done what?” the mermaid asked, craning his neck before squinting at the object and then promptly leaving a smirking Poe behind. The first thing Finn said when Poe joined him again was, “How did _this_ get here!?” like it was an affront that he didn't know about it.

Poe was getting way too attached... Anyway.

“It's Leia's centerpiece,” he explained. “It's only hanging out here for a month before going back home. She got it for the grand opening.”

Finn got on his tip toes and tried to look closer without going over the barrier. “Which one is it?”

“ _Endeavor_.”

“Now...” Finn leaned back on his heels, hands on his waist again as if that his default stance. “I would think space would be pretty much perfect for a vampire.”

Poe chuckled and shrugged. “Maybe. _Or_ maybe not. I don't know what I'd do in a place that's not day or night. And who knows what sunlight can get up to out there.”

“Good point.” Finn grimaced. “Sorry I asked.”

He just laughed in answer before the conversation lulled into silence as they looked at the looming space shuttle stuck in its own hangar behind a thick layer of glass. Then Poe began to panic because surely silence was _bad_ but he couldn't think of anything good to say. He was just making it more awkward. Surely he should probably say something. He was ruining the whole date! Why did he have to act so quiet? _Just say something! Say anything! Anything!_

“So, uh-” He stalled, mind drawing a blank as he glanced around for inspiration. _Anything!_ “What haven't _you_ done?”

“Well, I've never been in a plane before,” Finn admitted with a smile, finally taking his attention away from the shuttle. “Kinda prefer to stay around sea level, you know?”

“I can get that,” Poe chuckled awkwardly, feeling his face burn. God, that was a terrible tactic. Throwing back a question was a stupid idea. He was stupid. Dammit. Dammit! But then- Finn was laughing about something, and Poe cut his eyes over to him, finding the other man staring at him with such a _happy_ and _lovely_ look on his face. Poe's ears were burning. “What?”

“Nothing.” Finn shook his head and glanced around the room with such a charming smile. “I don't know how you'll take it.”

Fuck. Oh God, fuck, he'd done it. He ruined the whole thing. What was he thinking bringing a first date to a _museum_!? He might as well have _Senior Citizen_ tattooed on his forehead! This was a stupid idea! The entire thing was a stupid idea! What was he thinking that made him believe he could date again? This was all Jess' fault! “What?” he asked again with a little more whine and a lot more blush. Might as well face the music head on instead of being laughed at behind his back.

Finn shrugged, licked his lips, and turned that disastrous smile back on him. “You're really cute when you blush.”

Poe's brain, about 120 years past expiration date, decided just then to go ahead and peter out.

The mermaid, unknowing that his date was now _gone_ , continued talking and not helping matters in the least. “Adorable, I guess. I don't know. I guess it's not that flattering to hear, huh? But you are. You just- You look good when you blush.” He ended on an awkward little laugh for himself, still smiling wide enough to probably hurt.

Poe just stared at him, feeling like he could catch on fire at any second. It was a familiar feeling. He'd seen the sun a few times during his years, after all. Hard to avoid sometimes. Anyway, this was _exactly_ what that felt like.

Except it was kind of in a sort of good way. And Finn was still smiling softly at him.

Poe looked at the shuttle, the green tile on the floor, the blue tile, the white tile, the wall, the miniature Kennedy Space Center display, the rope barrier, the shuttle again, the other wall, back to the blue tile- “You're really pretty, too.”

Finn laughed and ducked his head, a hand against the back of his neck. Not that Poe took more than a half second glance at him. “Thank you.”

There was some squeak in the back of his throat that was intended to sound like “ _you're welcome_ ” but probably just sounded like he was dying. Now what? What could possibly happen now? His legs felt like marble pillars.

“Hey.” Finn slipped his hand into Poe's, the other tensing up and internally screaming that much louder before darting his eyes at the mermaid like the creepazoid he knew he was being right now. But Finn was still smiling. “I know the place isn't that big yet, but let's get a good look at it before your friend at the front desk starts getting the wrong ideas.”

Poe was honestly surprised that he could blush any harder, fairly certain that he was just a breath or two away from completely passing out. “Okay,” he murmured, Finn pulling him along and his legs following because what else could he do in the wake of that smile?

* * *

Their hands hadn't parted since the museum. The pair walked along the beach, weathering the ocean breeze together, giggly and laughing at half whispered thoughts. Finn couldn't stop smiling, happier than he'd been in recent memory, and Poe had calmed down though the blushing on his cheeks seemed almost perpetual.

Finn didn't want the night to end. And it didn't really have to, except time had flown pretty fast at some point. They had began muttering goodbyes at around 3 a.m. but now it was nearly 4 and they really should go. Daylight would break eventually and Finn had obligations the next day.

But he didn't want it to be over. The date had been nice and at times exhilarating but it had also been simple. As nervous as Poe had seemed, he was a little hard to read, and Finn didn't know if his compliments had gone over well or not. If this was their only night, then he decided that it was a beautiful one.

He wasn't exactly the type to give up on beautiful things, though. “So, I was wondering,” Finn began as evenly as he could, swinging their enclosed hands just a bit to let off nerves, “would you like to do this again sometime maybe?”

The other stopped dead, staring at Finn with wide eyes. The mermaid held his breath while Poe tried to find his words. “You want another date?”

Okay. Deep breath. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Stay calm. Finn swallowed and turned to face Poe. “If you want to. If you enjoyed tonight. I did. I'd like to again.”

Poe stared at him for a long (extremely tense) moment before jolting and turning that adorable shade of red again. “Yes!” he answered a bit too loudly before bodily twitching and trying again. “Yes, I'd- I would like to. A lot. If that's what you want. I'm- I'm fine with that. What do you- What should we- I mean, what would you like... to do? What do you want to do? Second date. What do you want to do on the second date?”

Resolving firmly to _not_ laugh at him but to also help him stop rambling, Finn bit his lip with a large smile before answering. “I'm up for anything. We could go to the pier maybe. Take a walk on the docks near the lighthouse. Catch a movie. Go bowling.” Finn laughed at his own answers. “Whatever you'd like.”

“Okay,” Poe answered in a near whisper, eyes almost comically wide, looking just incredibly adorable. “I can't wait,” he said all too honestly.

Finn wouldn't dare wipe away his smile. “Me either.”

Then Poe glanced at the horizon and down to the sand, just confirming what the mermaid figured was coming. “I guess we should- I should go.”

“I guess.”

“I'll text you.”

“If I don't text you first.”

Poe directed a big smile down to his shoes before looking up at him through his eyelashes. Totally swoon worthy. “I'll see you later, Finn.”

“I'll see you later, Poe.”

Neither moved for a few long seconds until the vampire _finally_ asked, “Can I-”

“ _Please_.”

With Poe's eyes on his lips, he could have jumped out of his own skin in nerves and excitement. As it were, Finn decided to be brave and lean forward to meet the other at least halfway, if not more. But in this, Poe wasn't hesitant. It was like he was sure this was the only opportunity he'd get for a kiss. So the vampire leaned towards him in a confidence that could almost be believed until their lips met and Finn could feel his heart pounding in his throat.

He hardly had time to feel the soft pressure and register it for what it was, realize this was _really_ happening, before Poe pulled away again. With cheeks red and eyes wide, Finn couldn't tell if Poe had felt anything that he just did. Before he could figure out anything else to say, Poe was already speaking. “Bye for now?”

Licking his lips and deciding to just go with that, Finn gave back a smile. “Bye for now.” Since neither of them was moving again, he reluctantly took his hands back.

Poe smiled again and, with a bite of his lip and a few backward steps, he turned away.

Finn giggled to himself and turned to the surf lapping against his shoes. When he turned back to watch Poe leave, the vampire was already gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why there's a random space shuttle there either.
> 
> More of them being ridiculously adorable in the next chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

Poe had been called sexy. He had been called beautiful. Walking around on this Earth for 200 years, he wasn't ignorant about how physically attractive he was. Far from it, actually.

But cute. _Cute?_

That was new. And, sure, okay, he'd been called _cute_ in a joking manner before. Jess thought it was cute that he was still trying to understand the science behind microwaves. Snap thought it was cute whenever Poe started in on a _back in my day_ speech. Leia thought it was cute when he assumed that he knew more than she did about any given topic.

But just... cute. In a honest, sincere, complimentary way. Him. Cute.

He felt BB jump on the small of his back and settle in around the same time he heard footsteps approach. There was not a muscle in his body that wanted to move right now.

“So,” Snap asked conversationally somewhere above him, “how'd the date go?”

Unsure of how exactly to sum up last night in any words, Poe whined into the seat cushion, the same place he had been in for the last couple of hours since walking in the door and face planting on the couch.

“That good, huh?”

Poe whined again.

“He sounds lovely.”

Giving up on ever breaking through Snap's endless abundance of sarcasm, he finally picked his head up to look at the other man. “He called me cute.”

“Okay, back up. When did you start crying?”

Poe sniffled and turned on his side, the cat jumping down after being rudely disturbed. “I'm so dumb,” he said instead. “I don't know what I'm doing.”

“Was he a dick or did you just get overwhelmed?”

“He's _perfect_.”

“Ah. Okay.”

“I'm so _dumb_.”

“Right.” Snap let out a deep sigh and sat down on the couch next to Poe's head. “Okay, so why do you think that you're dumb and you blew your chance and the world's coming to an end? Like specifically?”

“I'm just _dumb_. I don't know what I'm _doing_ ,” Poe whined, just repeating himself. “I took him to the _museum_. Who does that? Why did I do that?”

Snap pulled his phone out of his pocket, waving it in the air. “Actually, I had already heard about that from a little security-clad birdy. Karé said it was a hit.”

“It was _lame_. I'm so _lame_.”

The other sighed. “Dude, you took him to a museum in the middle of the night for just the two of you. That's like Hallmark-level first date. Was _Endeavor_ still there?”

“Yeah.”

“And?”

“He liked it.”

“Of course, he liked it!” Snap flapped his arms, exasperated. “It's a freakin' space shuttle, Poe! How's that lame?” When Poe just rolled over to bury his face between the cushions again, the other man took a deep breath and tried to take this slowly. “Alright, alright. How did the night end? What did he say when you two went your separate ways?”

“We said bye.”

“And?”

“And that he'd text me.”

“That's it?”

“... No.”

There was a long pause before Snap answered with, “Need I remind you that you're that guy who gave me a twenty minute spiel on the Kama Sutra while we were sitting in a crowded IHOP?”

Poe popped his head back up. “We kissed! Okay? He kissed me!” And before he could really go off on a tangent, he rolled on his back and hid his face in his hands. “He wants to do another date. I can't do it. I can't take this. I'm so lame. I'm gonna mess it up. He's so pretty.”

Snap sighed and got off the couch. “This is gonna be a long talk. I'll get breakfast started.”

* * *

“Finn.”

“Hm?”

“You're sighing again.”

The mermaid erupted in a giggle, his tail splashing into the water from where it hung off of the dock. “I can't help it, Rose! Stop laughing at me.”

“I'm not laughing at you,” she said with a big smile, jotting something down in her notebook before sifting through Finn's find of seashells. “You grabbed another piece of coral on accident again... And this is just a rock.”

He snatched the coral and rock from her hand and threw them back into the water. “Feel free to dive down and get your own shells maybe,” he answered, sticking his tongue out at her.

Rose just rolled her eyes. “How much sleep did you get last night?”

“Enough,” he laughed again, remembering that he only got about two hours of rest after calming down from the date's excitement. Poe's hand in his and the little kiss they shared was practically perfect. He couldn't get over _how_ perfect.

“You're doing it again, Mr. Wistful.”

Finn giggled back. “You didn't see him, though! Rose, he's beautiful. His picture on Q-Pid doesn't do him justice. And he's _shy_. Can you imagine being that handsome and _shy_? Geez, he's so-... I don't know, endearing? He's _so_ endearing.”

“Uh-huh.”

“He's really smart, too,” Finn continued, laying back on the dock to watch the clouds drift by overhead. “And old. He's been to so many places and been through a lot, I think. But he wasn't playing last night. He was real and sincere and honest. He's so _sweet_ , Rose. I don't know how, but he's so sweet. He couldn't stop blushing!”

“Uh-huh.”

“I'm supposed to text him between now and the next date,” he kept going, assuming Rose was listening and just teasing him. “I don't know how to start that off, though. I don't know what to say. Should I just do that thing where people wait three days? It's not clingy to just text him like normal, right? I should do it. I'll do it later at a more humane time maybe. Give him _some_ space _._ Or maybe I should wait for _him_ since he was so nervous at times last night.”

“Finn.”

“Yeah?”

“I need like three more bivalves please.”

“On it.” He pushed off of the dock and fell back into the water, much preferring to focus on Rose's little experiment than his own self-conscious hang ups.

Finn dove down to the sea bed and looked over the shells. There were plenty on the beach, but she was testing out something specific that needed them to be from places only someone like Finn could reach. He was only too happy to oblige. Like a little scavenger hunt! He scooped up a few more bivalves along with a handful of other uninhabited shells before going back to the surface. Once he breached the water, Finn dumped his collection on the dock and lifted himself back up to sit down. “What do you think?”

“I think you're thinking too much about it,” she answered reasonably, inspecting his find. “Just be yourself. Everything will fall into place like it's meant to.”

Again with the magical mumbo jumbo. “Well, yeah, but I want fate to at least give me a _shot_ at this one. He's _really_ cool. I don't think you understand.”

“I get it. Trust me.” She laughed and wrote something else down in her book. “It sounds like he already likes you. Just keep being you. Text him whenever you like once you figure out what to say. It'll be fine.”

“I don't want it to be just _fine_ ,” he mumbled to himself, poking through the seashells they had gathered up.

Pretty seashells were a common occurrence in his world. All shapes, sizes, and colors of shells existed in the ocean and were traded for all sorts of things. The shells he had collected for this weren't exactly impressive by most's standards, but there was one that was really nice. A thin gastropod's shell with a tall spire that was a gleaming white to the point of being iridescent with green and blue hues. “Can I have this one?”

Rose stopped writing and blinked at him. “Well, I mean, they aren't mine, so sure? Take whatever you like.” When he didn't reach forward for another shell and only expected the one in his hands, she sighed. “Oh, I get it.”

“Is this a dumb idea?” he asked her quietly, looking at the shell from arm's length. “It's dumb, isn't it?”

“It's not-”

“It _is_ dumb. It's just a _shell_. Who wants an old abandoned exoskeleton-”

“Stop!” Rose screeched, making Finn pause as his arm was over his head, ready to throw the seashell back to the surf. “Don't you _dare_ toss that away! It's _cute_ , Finn. It's not dumb.”

He deflated but didn't put his arm down. “It's kinda dumb, though, right?”

“You saw it and thought of him. I mean,” she shrugged, “ _I_ think it's sickeningly adorable, anyway. From the way you described him, this Poe guy would love it.”

Finn put his arm down and took another look at the shell in his palm. “What makes you say that?”

“Well, he's an older immortal. You said he blushed like crazy when you complimented him and enjoyed just walking around and talking. The dude brought you to a museum, so he's clearly into the moment over what's _happening_ in the moment, if that makes sense.” She shrugged again. “It's about the gesture, you know? He certainly won't think it's _dumb_.”

He frowned down at the shell and let out a frustrated huff before laying back on the dock again. “I guess.”

“That's the spirit.”

“He deserves something better than a seashell though,” he grumbled, holding the shell against the sun and squinting at it.

“It's only the second date.”

“Yeah, and I don't want to mess it up-”

“Oh my God, Finn, just give him the stupid shell.”

He groaned loudly and let the little thing fall against his chest, staring up at the sky. “... It's not stupid.”

“That's better.”

Okay. Fine. He wasn't going to come anywhere near winning this argument. “Do you need any more of these things?”

“Nope,” Rose answered with a smile, jotting down a few last things before closing the notebook. “I'll need to take a few of these with me but I'll bring them back when I'm done. Miss Organa's teaching me to toe the line between fae and witch, but I think she expects me to do half of what she can do and I can barely do an eighth.”

“She just sees your potential, Rose,” Finn argued back, turning on his side and catching the shell before it could fall through the slats of wood. “You're smart. You'll figure it out.”

“Thanks,” she laughed, hiding a big, bashful smile.

As she picked through a few of the shells to bring home with her, Finn relaxed his head against his forearm and thought back to the night before again. “How old is she? Miss Organa, I mean.”

“I don't know,” Rose answered then shrugged. “I wouldn't even be able to guess a ballpark. Why?”

“Poe knows her.” When Rose hummed and looked up, he continued. “On a first name basis, I mean. She was a donor to the museum we went to and he said he works for her. Said he moved here for her.”

“Really?” she asked and blinked at the sky. “I wonder if I met him before.”

“You'd remember. He's _gorgeous_.”

“Right,” Rose snorted.

Finn rolled his eyes. “ _Anyway_ , he said that they met in Paris when phones became popular. I just don't know if he meant cellphones or... _phone_ phones.”

“I wouldn't doubt that she has a couple of hundred years on us,” she answered with a smile and shrug. “Her brother is apparently way more talented. And their father was even stronger than that.” While Finn hummed and thought about a family with that kind of magic in their blood, Rose continued. “Anyway, if your new boyfriend drifts around in that crowd, he must be a pretty big deal. Way more experienced in the ways of the world.”

He hummed again in thought before sputtering. “It was _one_ date! He's not my boyfriend.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that's what you take from it. Look, I'm just saying, don't get too attached to people like that.”

Finn blinked up at her, turning serious. “Too attached?” he asked, buffing the seashell with his thumb. “What do you mean?”

She shrugged. “He's a powerful and probably very influential immortal. He likely sees the world very differently than what we do. A drop in time and all that. I just don't want you getting hurt, Finny.”

Well... He'd be lying if he said that he hadn't considered that. Poe's age and knowledge made him intimidated enough but also knowing _the_ Leia Organa was a lot. Poe's honesty on the date successfully pushed away any insecurity that Finn might have felt, but the _drop in time_ line was something he had wondered about.

Really, it all depended on how Poe felt, and Finn was almost certain that Rose's well-meant assumption wasn't correct. Maybe. “It was just one date,” he said again, scratching the shell against the dock before making himself stop. “It's not like anything's serious, you know?”

“I know,” she answered, putting her shells away in a small felt bag and brushing the rest back into the water. “I hope I'm wrong.”

“If anything, just half wrong,” he elaborated, staring blankly out to shore. “I think he is more than he lets on... Heh, he's the one that asked _me_ out, right? I don't think his nerves was fake, but maybe it was about something other than what I thought at the moment. Maybe he _was_ bothered by me calling him cute or anything else I did last night.”

“You don't know that.”

“No, I don't,” he agreed, not allowing it to hurt if he was just about to start going off of assumptions. Instead, Finn reached over to his discarded vest by Rose's side to pull out his phone. “I know what to text him, though.”

* * *

“And then he said 'you're really cute when you blush' and my soul literally just _left_ my body. Like, _cute? Me?_ But then he started saying that I'm, like, _adorable_ and all this other crazy shit, and I didn't know what to do! I was frozen! It was just like that time in Luxembourg when Holdo decided to throw a coup in the coven at the _same time_ the Allied Forces showed up. Granted, that was _worse_ , but-”

“Wait, wait.” Snap waved his fork over his empty plate, though the pancakes and bacon on Poe's plate was still untouched. “You lost me at Luxembourg.”

“ _Snap_ ,” Jess' tired voice said through the speaker phone sitting between them. “ _I was supposed to be asleep three hours ago. If he wants to compare World War II to his date, then by all means, let him continue._ ”

Poe whined. “You guys aren't _listening_. I blanked and told him he was pretty! _Pretty!_ Who says _pretty_ as a compliment?”

“Oh, boy.”

“ _Just let him go._ ”

“And then he grabbed my _hand_!”

“Scandalous.”

“ _He wants that D_.”

“And I _kissed him_!” Poe screeched, hands in his hair, about to pull it all out by the roots. “I initiated it and everything! Like, we were walking down the beach, as if that wasn't already cliché enough, and I asked to kiss him and he- he said ' _please_ ' and I just did- I- I- He-”

“ _He broke him._ ”

Poe crashed his head into the table, narrowly missing the pancakes. “He wants to do it _again_ and I said _yes_ and I don't think I can do all of that again! I can't do it! I don't even know what we could _do_!”

“ _I have a suggestion._ ”

“Jess, shush. He's having a moment.”

“He's so _pretty_ ,” Poe repeated for something like the twelfth time before lifting his head from the table. “He deserves everything. He deserves so much more than every single one of my messes. I'm such a _mess_!”

In the very rare silence that followed, Snap glanced at the phone and back to the vampire. “Then call it off.”

Poe jerked. “I CAN'T CALL IT OFF!” Jess' howling laughter over the phone made Poe squint between it and the smirking man in front of him. “You guys are playing with me. You're _teasing me!_ ”

“We are not-”

“ _What gave it away, Sherlock?_ ”

“We're _not_ teasing you,” Snap pressed. “I just think you need to figure out where your priorities are and stop second guessing yourself. I mean, you clearly still want to go on that second date.”

“But I can't-”

“So,” Snap continued over him, “it'll just be better if you use all of that pint up energy to figure out where you guys are going to go. After you eat breakfast. And maybe sleep.”

“ _And I think you have work tonight, too, bud._ ”

Poe took a deep breath. And then another. And then one more before putting his face in his hands, resting his elbows on the table. “You're right. Of course, you're right. I just need to calm down. I'm sorry I was yelling. It's fine. Everything's fine. We're all-”

The phone on the table chimed.

Poe froze.

Snap cleared his throat and poked at it a few times before announcing in a monotone voice, “Finn Midae has sent you a message through Q-Pid.” Poe's head hit the table again. “The fountain of love awaits you. Heart emoji.”

Jess cackled. “ _Oh my God, I love this kid._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had written ahead so here's another update! Woo!
> 
> Thank you all for reading. ♥


	8. Chapter 8

_Poe Dameron has sent you a message through Q-Pid™! Love can break any spell! ♥_

It had been hours since Finn sent out his message. He had just, not quite ten minutes ago, broke the surface of the pool in his secluded cove and had been lounging against the rocks in the small sliver of sunlight when his phone went off. To be honest, he had been trying _really hard_ to not think about the message he sent, which was asking what Poe thought of the night before. Stressing out about every single detail wasn't his idea of a good time, anyway. Besides, it was daylight. Poe had to sleep at some point, yeah?

But he found himself hesitating to open the message. Everything was either fine, great, or ruined. The tips of his tail brushed against the water while his mind mused on what could possibly be in that message. Then Finn rolled his eyes at himself for being dramatic and just opened the dumb thing.

Get it over with, he thought to himself. Like ripping off a band-aid. Or duct tape.

He held his breath and flitted his eyes through Poe's text: _I really enjoyed last night. Can't wait to see you again._

The air pushing out of his lungs made his whole body go lax. Of course it was fine. He was just overthinking everything and being dumb. If Poe did have a problem with the compliments Finn oh so desperately wanted to give him, then maybe they could cover that on the next date. Which was definitely still on.

Taking another deep breath, Finn smiled and wrote out a reply to send: _Awesome! I can't wait either. :)_ And he really really couldn't.

Back in his sighy, dreamy, wistful mood, Finn texted Lloyd to see if they were still on with Slip later before diving back into the water.

* * *

Poe opened the heavy oak door into the sitting room, spying Leia perched primly in the green filigree armchair in front of the fire place. He approached quietly and leaned over the back of the chair to peck a kiss on her cheek. She silently raised an eyebrow at him, cutting her eyes to him.

“Hello, Leia,” he answered the look and stepped over to the small table between the chairs, pouring tea into a cup without adding anything else to it. Still feeling her eyes on him, he took his tea and sat down in an identical chair across from hers, boring his eyes into the fire before taking a hefty gulp of the bitter drink.

Her fingernail tapped against the saucier of her own tea cup as she stared and considered him. At this rate, he was going to need a refill, because all he could do in defense of her gaze was to just keep drinking. In hindsight, vodka would have been a nice thing to take along.

“Poe.”

He nearly spit his drink all over the room when she seemed to suddenly say his name. As it were, he was a gentleman that swallowed his mouthful and pretended to be cool headed. He glanced back to Leia with raised eyebrows and what he hoped was a rather blank expression.

Her blink at him was slow and deliberate. “What was it you told me in Cuba? Something about putting leaves in water was akin to making mud pies? I think I remember the words _the piss of capitalism_ in there somewhere.”

“That was thirty years ago, Princess,” he managed to say with a straight face. “Tastes change.”

“Clearly.”

Poe stared back at her before taking another gulp of his tea only to find it empty. Right. He just guzzled it all. With a good clear of his throat, he leaned forward to refill his cup without standing, Leia staring straight into his soul the entire time.

A knock sounded at the door and Leia answered it with a, “Come in.” She still didn't look away from him, so Poe leaned back in his chair and began to practically siphon down his tea again as the newcomer approached. Finally, Leia's eyes roved over to greet the young woman- young _faerie_ with warmth. “Hello, Rose.”

“Hi, Miss Organa,” she replied with a smile, giving a little nod to Poe from where she stopped beside the chairs. Then it was right to business, correctly assuming that Leia wouldn't have welcomed her if she was disturbing something. Actually, Leia had a firm belief against the notion of _disturbances_ but what could you do against someone who spouted so much about fate? Anyway- “I've finished the experiment with the seashells,” Rose chirped with a happy grin. “I was able to mix them with several other ingredients and got a lot of added properties, just like you said, though more than I expected. Speaking of, how's the tea?”

Poe choked, somehow keeping from comically spitting it out in front of both women but instead had to pound on his chest to stave off a coughing fit.

Leia, once he was able to glance to her through watering eyes, seemed way too amused. She looked back to a baffled Rose and answered, “ _The Earl Grey_ is just fine, sweetheart. Thank you.” He could dig a hole and die right now. “Poe thinks so, too. That's his second cup in as many minutes.”

“Oh,” Rose smiled politely again, apparently willing to forget his ridiculous display just now. “That's great! Thank you. I'm working around with different-... Wait. I'm sorry.” Her face was blank and now she was looking at him. Like _really_ looking at him, like Leia did practically all the time. He took another gulp of his tea. “Poe as in Poe Dameron, yes? The vampire?”

“That's right,” Leia answered for him, a _very_ coy smile on her lips. “I believe you two have a mutual acquaintance.”

He figured out was going on before it became too obvious and couldn't decide if he wanted to vanish into thin air or put his head in the fireplace. As it were, he shifted in his seat and looked back to Rose blankly, playing innocent.

She took charge with a big smile that held a bit of a edge behind her eyes. She was judging him. No, not judging. Measuring, really. Deciding something. “Finn Midae is one of my closest friends,” she told him sweetly and nodded towards Leia. “He actually helped with my little experiment earlier today.”

Okay. Okay, Poe knew first hand that all of that bullshit about first impressions was true. His actions now would decide how she viewed him later and what inevitably would travel down the grape vine back to Finn. Yes, there were ways to correct first impressions but it was often a difficult task that took much more time than he currently had. This had to be nailed on the first try. He's an adult. He can do this.

Poe coughed. “Uh, yes, I-” His mind was a white canvas. “I like Finn.” He fucked it. “He's nice.” Shut up.

Rose gave him a confused squint as he went back to drowning himself in tea. Eventually, thankfully, she said something. “I like him, too... He talks about you a lot.”

Inhaling more tea didn't seem to do him any favors, what with him coughing up a lung and Leia laughing about it. Whether she was taking pity on him or had decided to go in for the kill, she waved to Rose. “Thank you for confirming my experimentation, sweetheart. We're done for today. You can drill him later once I've had a whack, if you don't mind. He'll be at the airport working nights this week.”

They must get along great considering Rose's maniacal look in her eyes. “Thank you, Miss Organa. I'm sure I'll see you later, Poe. It was a pleasure to meet you.”

He cleared his throat, voice hoarse and sore. “Pleasure was all mine.”

With a laugh dancing on her smile, Rose turned and left the room. Despite the fire, the area seemed to get much colder, especially since Leia was watching him again, this time like a hawk appraising a soon meal.

Poe reached back over to the table to refill his cup for the third time, except now with much less grace and making a clatter, even knocking the sugar cubes over into the bottom of the tray. He ignored them and leaned back in his seat, taking a long slurping gulp.

She sighed. “So-”

“Leia, _please_ don't-”

“I believe I was speaking.” Even though he had many protests at the moment, Poe snapped his mouth shut, ducked his head forward, and prepared himself. Leia continued. “So... when exactly did you jump back on the train?”

“It's Jess' fault,” he grumbled.

“Oh, so Miss Pava made you communicate with him?”

“Well, she-”

“And go on a date?”

“No, but-”

“Are you going to keep ignoring the issue or do I have to bring up all the feelings you have for this mermaid of yours?”

“He's not _mine!_ ” Poe whined, nearly dropping his tea cup. “It was _one_ date, Leia. Literally just _one_ date! It's not the end of the world!”

“It would almost make more sense if it was,” she huffed to herself before putting her untouched drink on the table and lacing her fingers together. “I'm glad you're doing this again, Poe. I'm proud of you.”

Nope, he wasn't about to get all serious and emotional and teary eyed. “It was just one date,” he grumbled, sloshing the liquid in his cup back and forth. “It doesn't mean anything. I'm not doing anything.”

“Doesn't mean anything,” she repeated to herself, staring back at him again. “Of course not. So when are you going to try facing the fact that this might be something more?”

“It's not. It's nothing.” A long pause passed between them as Poe stared daggers into the fire before he let out a loud groan and tried again. “I don't know, okay? I don't know anything! I'm a big dumb... bumbling-... _I don't know!_ This was stupid! This whole thing was stupid!”

“You're lonely,” she began again, which successfully shut him up. “You've always cared... so much about people.”

“Too much. You were going to say _too_ much.”

Leia shrugged in response. “Withdrawing and secluding did you no favors. Now that everyone's out as who they are and the world gets to settle into its own skin, you should be able to do the same. I think this will be good for you. I think _he's_ good for you.”

Poe hunched his shoulders and wiggled himself further down into the seat like a child, staring at his tea. “I'm not lonely.”

“Somehow, I don't think your great something or other nephew wants to hold you at night,” she smiled with laughing eyes, “nor you him.”

“Don't give him ideas,” Poe mumbled, knocking the rest of the drink back like it was a shot. Tea gone, he sat the cup on the table, refusing to fill it for the fourth time. “I'm not used to this kind of thing, Leia. Not for a long time, anyway. I have no idea what to do. I don't even know if I'm doing the right thing at all.”

“If it helps,” she sighed, “I think you are. And one should never underestimate the power of conversation.”

“Not on the first _date_.”

“The second date, then,” she shrugged. “By the way, when has that been decided for?”

He felt like he could curl into a ball. “I'm too scared to ask.”

“Maybe you should get him a gift.”

“Again, Leia. Too soon.”

“Just a thought,” she laughed at him.

Accepting his role that fate had given him in the form of his increasingly weird relationship with Leia Organa, Poe let out a sigh and stood. “I came over to tell you that I'm working this week, not that you didn't already know.”

As he walked forward and kissed her other cheek, Leia gave him a private smile. “That's not what you came here for.” When he paused beside her chair, she looked pointedly at him. “This is a good thing, Poe. _He_ is good. I promise.”

Something unspoken fell from his shoulders even if logic was still scratching at the back of his eyes. Avoiding the possible emotional talk again, Poe squeezed her shoulder in silent thanks and left.

* * *

Lloyd groaned, face half buried into the sand of the beach. “Should we paint each others nails while we talk about the cute boys, too? Have some wine while we're at it?”

Finn flopped his tail over what he could still see of the mermaid's face. “Anyway,” he continued, “so now Poe's like this beet red complexion, you know? So I take his hand-”

“ _No_ ,” Slip gaped, halfway through his beer, back leaning against the support of one of the larger docks. Unlike their other companion, he was not being sarcastic in the least. “Poor guy was already shy!”

“I know, but I couldn't not do it!” Finn argued. “He was so cute. And he didn't let go. We saw the whole rest of the museum like that.”

“Aww!"

“Ugh,” Lloyd groaned, reminding them of his presence. “What? No kissing?”

Finn flopped his tail. “I'm getting to that.”

Slip, for his part, almost lost his mind. “What!? You _kissed_ him!? How far did it go? Did he literally die? Did you kill him?”

“No!” Finn groaned, giving in to the interruption. “No, it was just a little peck. And this was _after_ we walked down the beach for like over an hour or something. Plus, _he_ kissed _me_.”

Slip practically squealed at this revelation at the same time that Lloyd groaned again. “Oh man,” the first smiled broadly, “I think _I'm_ a little in love.” Finn took the opportunity to shove him. “Good job, dude. When's part two coming out?”

“I don't know,” Finn deflated with the honest answer. “It's hardly been a day, and we didn't make any concrete plans. Plus I'm a little nervous. I was actually waiting for him to make the first move.”

Lloyd made a sound between a huff and a laugh, pushing the tail off of his face. “You're waiting for _him_ to make the first move? The same guy that could hardly look you in the eyes? The same guy whose reaction to being complimented was to shut down entirely? This guy?”

“I don't want to seem clingy,” Finn shrugged. “I don't want to scare him away either or- or push him into something. I don't know.”

Slip hummed to himself. “Who proposed the first date?”

“He did.” The both stared at him in silence. “What?”

“He's waiting for _you_ ,” Lloyd answered, rolling on his back and not bothering with the layer of sand on the rest of him. “The least you could do is text him tomorrow with an idea of where to go, you know? Keep the interest flowing.”

“I agree,” Slip chimed in. “I like this one. I want you to keep him.”

“But where would we even go?” Finn kind of huffed. He had no idea how the first date could ever be topped. Surely whatever came after would just be disappointing, yes? But he still wanted to go. He still really wanted to see Poe.

“You could go swimming,” Lloyd suggested unhelpfully, earning a face full of tail again.

Slip, now apparently emotionally invested in his friend's love life, was actually thinking. “There's the fair at the pier. Supposed to going on for the next few days, I think.”

“I thought about that,” Finn admitted. “He can't go during the day, obviously. You think he'd like it? It would be filled with teenagers and stuff, y'know? His profile said _intellectual_ ,” at this, he used air quotes, “and our first date was spent at a museum. I don't know if he'd like a fair.”

“You don't have to ride stuff,” Lloyd shrugged from beneath Finn's tail. “Everything's lit up at night, anyway. I saw it not long ago. Really pretty. And besides, you two could just meet there and see where it goes.”

Finn pouted back even though the other mermaid couldn't see him do it. “We already sort of did that, though. Not at the _fair_ , but still.”

“You could just ask him,” Slip replied all too sensibly.

“I could,” he answered, mulling it over. “I can. Yeah, I will. Yeah. Tomorrow.”

“Great,” Lloyd mumbled.

Finn flopped his tail in thought, forgetting that his friend was under it until he was pushed aside again. “It's not boring, though, right? It's not the _museum_. I don't want him to think I'm boring. I am probably boring, though. I'm so boring.”

Lloyd sighed. “Can you guys pass me another beer before we start on each other's hair?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second date in the next chapter! I think. Hopefully. Maybe. Probably. Most likely.
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> (Yes, there is a plot, I promise, I'm just so slow)


	9. Chapter 9

When a text from Leia came in as soon as Poe got in from work telling him that he had that evening off, no arguments, there were some red flags that immediately stood at attention. Then Finn sent him a message before he could make a confused argument for himself and that's when panic started to set in.

He was leaning back against the front door, staring down at his phone, when Snap found him. “Um,” the other began, at least mostly dressed, “when did you get in?”

“Five,” Poe answered in a single breath, not looking up.

“Okay, well, it's seven now.”

“Leia gave me tonight off,” he continued, finally looking up, “and Finn wants to know what I think about fairs.”

Snap barked a laugh before turning it into a cough, visibly struggling to contain himself. He cleared his throat. “Right, so, I have the day off, too. All I ask is that you _please_ let me pick out the outfit this time.”

“I- I-” No, okay, he was better than a babbling mess most of the time. He could do this much. “I can't go. It's too soon. I had no notice. And I _just_ saw him a few nights ago. What if he gets tired of me?” Snap grabbed him by the shoulders and steered him into the kitchen. “What if he's already tired of me? What if he wants to meet just to break up? We're not even together and he already wants to break up. I don't know what to do. I can't go. I can't be seen like this. I'm going to ruin everything. It's been decades since I've even looked at a fair. What if I do something wrong? What if he hates me? What if-”

“Pancakes or waffles?”

“Waffles,” Poe answered as Snap pushed him into a chair. “I don't even know the proper etiquette about a fair anymore. Do they still do the contests? And the plays? I haven't even seen a play since- since- since _Europe!_ I haven't seen a play since _Europe_ , Snap! I'm going to make a fool of myself! He's going to think I'm an idiot or a psycho or something. He's going to be so embarrassed to be seen with me.” He covered his face with his hands. “He's so perfect. I can't do this.”

“I'm thinking the white button down with jeans, you know. Something simple.” When Poe just answered in a high pitched whine, Snap rolled his eyes and turned away from the waffle iron. “Dude, seriously, he's not going to... think whatever you think he's going to think. You did something right the first time, surely, or he wouldn't be wanting a second date, right? And, yeah, no, they don't do plays at the pier. You're good on that front.”

Poe pushed the hair from his face and took a deep breath before giving Snap his best puppy eyes. “What do I do?”

Temmin shrugged. “Be yourself? He seems to like that.”

“Be myself,” the vampire muttered back, resting his head on the table and staring at the wall. Being himself and getting Finn to like him just didn't seem like two things that could occur at once. But Snap had a point. It did seem to work last time.

“And maybe get a few hours of sleep between now and then. And, you know, text him back and everything.”

Right. Text Finn back. Oh God. “I can do that.”

Snap flipped the waffle iron. “I know you can, champ.”

* * *

It was Finn that was stuck waiting this time. Poe's messages to him had been kind of short and to the point, but they had agreed to meet up at the pier that night. Somehow, Finn found himself pacing the opening of the boardwalk, trying and failing to walk off his nerves. He was so _excited_ to see Poe again, that couldn't be denied, but he was beginning to fret about the little things. Was this too soon? Would Poe even enjoy a fair? Could they really do better or at least get on par with the first date or was that memory about to be ruined? Was he trying to move too fast? Was he being pushy?

He wanted to lean back and rely on the cool confidence that he knew was lurking just off to the side of his near panic, but what if that confidence translated into cockiness? What if he started acting like a jerk or something?

“Such a dumb thing to worry about,” he muttered to himself. Now he was just being silly.

His thumb buffed against the seashell warming in his palm. What if he was being too silly?

A throat clearing not far away drew his attention and stopped his stride. Then Poe walked into the light wearing a button down shirt with his sleeves rolled up and normal jeans and Finn nearly swooned right there. How could he forget how beautiful the other was in person? Then there were his hands stuffed in his pants pockets and head gently bowed as if to hide the bit of color on his cheeks, his lips teasingly quirking up on the edges, and Finn's face was aching from how big his smile was. “Poe.”

“Finn,” the vampire answered just as breathless before licking his lips. “Hi.”

“Hi.” A bit of a lame response, but Finn literally didn't care anymore. Poe was here, standing right in front of him. Everything was perfect. “So, uh... how's the last few days been?” he asked, half joking since they haven't really stopped talking.

“It's been good,” Poe answered with a nod, glancing between the ground and Finn. “Back to work and everything. How about you?”

“Good,” Finn nodded back. “It's been good.”

“Good,” Poe laughed.

The mermaid laughed, too, before biting his lip and rethinking the shell in his hand. That was a dumb idea, wasn't it? He found himself chickening out. “So, I-” He almost nodded towards the pier, about to say something about the fair, but couldn't really find the resolve to push things along. Maybe the seashell _was_ really dumb, but he was starting to like the idea of getting it over with. He certainly didn't want to fret on it all night. Worst case scenario, Poe would laugh. That wasn't so bad.

He fidgeted, switching gears. “Actually, it's kind of silly, but I, uh-” Got him something? No, that gave this too much meaning. He didn't want to lay his heart bare like that. But now Poe was giving him wide eyes, little smile gone, and it was now or never. “I found this and thought of you.” He finally said, lifting his palm to show the small prize. “Thought you might like it.”

Finn waited as Poe looked at the seashell... and waited... and waited. He was going to start sweating, at this rate. But Poe was still staring with wide eyes, face carefully blank aside from the parting of his lips. Then, _finally_ , his hands rose from his sides as if to cradle Finn's hand but stopping just short. “You got me this?” he asked breathlessly, quietly.

Oh _Gods_ above and below, this was a massive mistake. Finn managed to squeak out a, “Yes.”

“You-” Poe still stared down at it and- Were his eyes watering? “You didn't have to-” The vampire cleared his throat, seeming to come back to himself. “Thank you,” and that sounded really heartfelt and sincere.

But Finn had to make sure. “Is it okay? Do you like it?”

“Yes! I-” Poe stopped again and finally took the seashell, cupping it gently with both hands before closing his palms around it, holding it close, and looking back at Finn. “You thought of me.” The mermaid began to smile from the sheer relief but Poe added in a near heartbreaking voice, “I didn't get you anything.”

He couldn't help it. Finn laughed. “That's okay,” he said, stepping forward to hold Poe's elbows, about as close as he could get to holding the other man without being too forward about it. “That's okay. I just saw it and thought of you. It's not- I wanted you to have it.” He nearly said that it wasn't a big deal. He couldn't brush it off _that_ much.

It was the way that Poe was looking at him that really made this a win, though. Like the vampire was just struck with shock. But there was something else there. Something almost beyond affection. Finn would rather like to stare into those eyes for the rest of the night. Before he could get too drawn in, too overwhelmed about this, he cleared his throat and nodded at the boardwalk behind him. “You wanna?”

Spell somewhat broken, a smile broke across Poe's face that managed to make Finn love the moment even _more_. He wondered if this could really get any better, before Poe answered, “Yes.”

Tucking the seashell away, Poe reached out and grabbed Finn's hand, thrilling him by actually initiating the contact. “Come on,” Finn laughed, tugging Poe along the boardwalk. He didn't know what they could get up to at a fair. Would Poe be up for rides or games or food or merely just walking around? The lights did look pretty dazzling from the entrance, so maybe his idea wasn't going to be too terrible.

The rides and booths were lit up and multicolored fairy lights were strung high up enough to create the illusion of a ceiling. They looked amazing up close, too. What's more, Poe looked amazing underneath them as he gazed around with a big grin. He didn't seem like the intimidating 200 year old vampire in that instance. He looked young and innocent, and Finn fiercely felt the desire to protect him, to hold him, to make sure he kept smiling.

“I haven't been to a fair in ages,” Poe began before laughing at himself. “Literally. I didn't know what to expect really. I thought they still did plays and skits and stuff. Snap had to fill me in.”

“Snap?” Finn asked with what he knew was a dazed smile all over his face.

Poe smiled back. “My roommate.”

“You have a roommate?”

“Yeah,” he laughed. “He's family, actually. Totally human as far as I know. He kinda keeps me up to date when pop culture starts leaving me behind. But it was another vampire, Jess, she made me get the Q-Pid thing. And a smartphone, now that I think about it.”

_Another_ vampire. Finn hadn't realized there were more than one in the area. Though, he supposed that he wouldn't have. “Jess, is she around your age?”

“No, younger, around fifty.” The smile _almost_ slipped away while Finn debated kicking himself for bringing up their age gap, but then Poe was on another subject. “I met Rose a few days ago, a fae. Said she knew you.”

Oh. _Oh._ Oh, this was potentially a disaster. Oh no, what did Rose do? He didn't think she would go and seek Poe out! This was bad. This was probably really really bad. Finn swallowed hard. “Yeah? I've known Rose for a few years. She's the one that put the enchantment on my amulet. I think she studies under Leia Organa.”

Poe nodded in affirmation. He had a small smile but didn't seem like he was really giving anything away that Finn could read... not that Finn was great at reading him in the first place. “She seems really nice.”

“Yeah, she is,” he agreed easily, knowing that it was true but wondering if Poe was just being polite. “She talented, too. I remember the day she met Miss Organa. She was a total mess.”

Poe just laughed. “Yeah, Leia has that effect on people.” He seemed to be looking everywhere but at Finn, and the mermaid couldn't decide if it was nerves about Rose, nerves in general, regret about the date, or just taking in the scenery. There was a brief panic before Poe's eyes lit up when he caught sight of a stall, apparently proving that he really was just taking everything in. “You hungry?” he asked, nudging Finn's elbow. “I'll buy. I can get you something.”

… Did he want to pay him back for the seashell? It was so sweet that Finn couldn't find it in himself to argue that he needed nothing in return, that he could buy their food. (Poe bought last time.) Resolving to pick it all apart later, he smiled back and nodded. “That sounds great.”

Before any minds could be changed, Poe darted over to the vendor, Finn right on his heels, and ordered their food and drinks. They took their goods to a bench along the side of the railing, secluded enough away from the crowd, watching people and rides go back and forth. Finn hadn't really known what to expect from grilled sesame chicken served on a stick at a fair, but it wasn't half bad. Though, Poe seemed to be having trouble just eating it and they both dissolved into giggles over essentially nothing.

Finn was just picking at the last tiny bits clinging to the stick when Poe spoke up. “What's it like down there?”

He looked over to find the vampire leaning against the railing, clean stick slowly twirling in his hand, as he watched the waves below with a far off look. The lights dancing off of his eyes distracted Finn into an almost awkward pause before silently shaking himself. “It's-” He looked out over the ocean, too, trying to figure out how to describe it. “It's dark,” he began. “Even when you get accustomed to it and can see, even in the daytime, it's still dark. But there's these reefs outside of the bay that are so bright, it almost seems to be its own light source. With all the fish there, it's looks like it moves sometimes, too. And around the winter solstice, the algae comes back. It never really leaves, I guess, but that's the best time to see it. Seeing them underwater is kinda like the fair's lights, except everything's blue and glowing... The water's cold, and sound isn't clear like out here, but it's not really bad per se. Just totally different.” He blinked, coming back to the moment and looking at his audience.

Poe was watching the waves still, a bit of a forlorn look having come over him. “It sounds lonely.”

It was. “Not really,” Finn shrugged. “I have a few friends down there. My family lives pretty far away, but that's all right. I've got my own place and everything. Land's still a lot more fun, but the ocean has its perks sometimes.” It was beautiful every now and then, that was certain, but... he was really growing accustomed to the scenery on land the last few days.

At least Poe was smiling now, more wistful than forlorn, like he was really trying to picture it all. “What's your place like?”

Finn just chuckled at the thought of explaining _that_ to someone unaccustomed. “I didn't buy it, if that's what you're thinking,” he answered with a smile. “It's a cove about halfway between here and the delta. You can only get to it underwater, but it leads into this open air cavern. Part of the ceiling caved in decades ago from a storm and light filters in. The wifi's nothing to brag about, but I like it.”

Now Poe was laughing. The conversation was turning into a victory. “That sounds wonderful,” he replied, turning those wistful eyes on Finn.

His brain sputtered to another pause before picking up on the lull of conversation. Right. He was being talked to. It was time to reply. “It's pretty nice.”

Poe glanced down and away, blushing again, the lights dazzling over his eyes and skin. Finn bit his lip to keep from doing or saying something crazy, before his attention was taken by the other's fidgeting hands. The stick was sitting between them with the rest of their trash, but the seashell was flowing between one hand and the next.

He really did like it.

Finn found himself falling a little harder, a little faster, a warm something rising through his chest.

* * *

Poe was so fucked. He had been given a gift. _Finn_ got him a gift. Leia had _told him_ to get something, and he hadn't listened. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that Finn would get him a _gift_.

He didn't even know how to handle it. He was so fucked.

Listening to Finn talk about his home, about the water, was almost heart wrenching. Finn didn't belong in a cold, dark place. All alone. It hurt to think about it like that, but Finn insisted that it wasn't bad so maybe it wasn't. It didn't change the fact that Poe wanted to give him everything in return for the gift. Finn deserved _everything_. What could Poe really give him, though? What did he have to offer?

“I almost wish I could see it,” he began, trying to think through his emotions versus what he wanted to say. “Be down there with you, I mean. Experience it with you.” He could provide company. He could do that much. Except... he couldn't. Not down there.

After a silent moment that the vampire didn't notice due to him trying to fix his last statement, Finn quietly replied, “I'd like that.”

Poe looked up and met his eyes, getting lost in them for the hundredth time that evening. They couldn't have been on that pier long, but it almost felt like a well spent eternity when he lost himself in those eyes. That probably wasn't very productive to conversation, though. At the same time, he could think of nothing to say or rather nothing worthy of saying. The moment didn't need it.

But then Finn straightened, eyes and smile widening a margin, seeming to suddenly get an idea. “You could see some of it.” Poe straightened up, too, immediately interested in the idea. But, almost as quickly as the thought had come, Finn looked away from him and got an actual honest to God _shy_ look on his face despite the steady smile. “If you wanted to, I mean. It's totally up to you. I'm really enjoying what we're doing already.”

Poe genuinely had no idea what he was talking about but found himself saying, “I want to see.”

The shyness was still there, but Finn's smile was large and genuine. He grabbed their trash and tossed it in a waste bin about an arm's length away before standing and taking Poe's arm.

The vampire, of course, could do nothing but follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This entire update is one big cliché but that's what we're all here for. Thank you so much for reading! Sorry for the delay.
> 
> Now say it with me, folks. "I will not change the rating of this story on their second date. I will not change the rating of this story on their second date. I will not-" You get it. I guess we'll all have to wait and see what happens.


	10. Chapter 10

Finn was berating himself for every angle of this situation.

For one, he was scared. He was about to put himself into a pretty vulnerable position. And what if Poe didn't care for what he saw? What if he shrugged or laughed or frowned? What if it completely disgusted him? What if it scared him? There were people like that, Finn knew they were out there, and Poe mentioned once that he hadn't met a mermaid before meeting him.

For another, he was _scared_? Since when did he ever feel self-conscious for what he was? Since when did he second guess interacting with people? This had never been a source of anxiety before. A week ago, he wouldn't have been able to imagine a situation where he might be anxious about it.

But Poe was different. Poe was _important_. He didn't want to mess this up.

Finn was almost loathe to leave the lit pier, worried about taking what seemed like a leap of faith and ruining their date. At the same time, he saw no reason to go far. They went back to shore and continued further down the boardwalk, hand in hand, not speaking a word, until he could see the lighthouse blinking near the mouth of the bay. The fair's lights still glittered across the water, still danced over Poe's eyes when he turned a certain way. Somehow, it made it feel like there was a safety net in place.

And now he had no idea what to do but slowed them to a stop anyway. “How do you feel about-...?” He trailed off and gestured at the boardwalk's railing barring them from the rocky beach.

Poe just smiled at him. “Can't see the water from here, right?”

Finn gave a relieved smile back and decided to go first, ducking under the lowest rung of the railing and dropping down to the sand below. He paused long enough to take his jacket off before Poe appeared beside him. “There's a place I like,” he explained with a grin, taking Poe's hand again and leading him to the cove where he favored breaching the water, the same place Rey and Rose brought his new clothes to.

It was darker under the overhanging land, the ground being flat rock rather than sandy beach, though sand of course found its way in. It was still one of Finn's more favored places to relax when he wasn't home. The rocks just off the shore provided ample places to lay back and soak in the sun. The angle of the moon and distance from the fair still provided light, especially with the two of them being accustomed to the dark as they were.

But Finn was still nervous and just reaching for distractions now. He looked back to Poe with a wary grin, about to ask if the other was absolutely sure about this, but the vampire wasn't paying attention. He was making that same face he had when he first saw the seashell, except now he was just staring at Finn's bare arm.

* * *

Poe still had no clue what was going on but he found himself enjoying it. A small voice from one of his past lives was trying to tell him to be more wary in unknown situations when trusting a near stranger with pretty eyes, but Poe batted that away. He didn't care to look over his shoulder anymore. He trusted Finn, perhaps more than he should. And he idolized him a bit more than that.

His thoughts had been quickly diverted to the light reflecting in sparkles off of Finn's arm. When he looked, blinked, and slowly registered what he was seeing, he couldn't really look away.

_Scales_. There were _scales_ sprinkled over Finn's upper arm, blending into the skin along the edges of the patch he could make out from beneath the shirt's sleeve. They were a deep purple with streaks of gold not unlike an ore vein accenting the color.

Poe had considered before what Finn may look like in his natural habitat but had been so hung up on how he looked in every other habitat that he hadn't bothered to think too hard about it. He knew that Finn would be beautiful, that was a no brainer, but he didn't realize by how much. Were there other patches of scales on his body? Is this what his tail looked like?

“Poe?”

It took a second for him to register the sound as his name, then Poe snapped to attention, knowing full well that he was just caught staring.

They had stopped walking without him realizing, now along the edge of a cove that hid them from potentially prying eyes with a large section of land overhanging the warm rocks they were standing on. And Finn was smiling at him, a little less shy than he had on the pier when they started walking.

He _knew_ that he was blushing hard again and was powerless to stop it. Actually, once he realized the blush was there, it just got worse. If he could only turn into a crab and crawl into the ocean at that second. But... Finn said that he liked when Poe blushed. Called him- Called him _cute_.

Finn didn't start in with the compliments this time, though. He just chuckled to himself and glanced to his arm. “That's my scales,” he murmured as he took his hand away.

Poe had just enough time to panic about how he screwed up what with the creepy staring and all while he watched Finn drop the jacket to the rocks, readjust his necklace, and pull his shirt off over his head.

Wait...

Wait. Wait a minute.

The vampire held a blank stare at the mermaid's neck, trying hard to not look while also finding it hard to be unable to look. He felt like he had been left about twenty paces behind somewhere along the way. Though, he should have probably known better, right? Finn offered to show him the sea and they went to a secluded area. Of course, clothes were going to be removed, right? That was the logical next progression, yes? Poe didn't know. His mind had gone blank at some point, trying to figure out what exactly he should do without making a total fool of himself.

This was... _so_ beyond him.

Then Finn's shirt, still wrapped around his arms, slapped against his chest and covered his front. “Should I stop? Should we go back?”

Poe blinked and finally met Finn's eyes, finding them worried and... _maybe_ a little scared? “This is fine,” Poe heard himself say.

That didn't seem reassuring. “You sure?” Finn asked with eyes so intense that Poe felt numb under them. “I should have asked first, been a little clearer. I'm not really used to that stuff. I'm sorry. Are you okay?”

Was he making Finn uncomfortable? Oh God. “I'm fine,” Poe tried to say in a hoarse voice before clearing his throat and attempting a smile. “I'm fine. Just... didn't expect that, I guess. Sorry. I'm okay.”

“Do you want to go back?” Finn asked again, seeming to make an attempt at clarity that neither one of them was good at.

And while all of this was certainly overwhelming and Poe was still lost, he shook his head immediately. “No.”

A slow and small but bright smile inched over Finn's face before he brought his arms down and untangled his shirt from them, draping the cloth over a nearby rock. Next came the shoes and socks, and Poe was absolutely helpless to do anything except watch and breathe. He didn't even want to think about where this was _going_. It was all he could do to not stare at the way the light bounced across the scales on his arms and collar and back and waist where they vanished beneath- Okay, stop. Stop. Breathe.

How many days has it been since he last told someone he wasn't celibate? Why was he acting like a confused preteen? Maybe because this was _Finn_ and he found himself _caring_ and the man was unnaturally _beautiful_ \- Just breathe.

The mermaid put his shoes to the side before straightening up and looking back to Poe with a shy smile. “Stay here?”

It took every brain cell Poe had to nod.

With a more reassuring grin, Finn left his side and stepped forward into the gently lapping waves. Poe watched on as the mermaid walked calmly into the water between the rocks and, when he got a little over waist deep, dived in without making a single splash.

And Poe was left totally alone with nothing but his screaming thoughts. He had a better idea about what was going on now, but was trying very hard to not hyperventilate about it. Was Finn going to-? Was he-?

Taking a deep breath, Poe leaned down to take off his shoes and socks, too, keeping a solid eye on the water in front of him. He... had an _idea_ , but he still wasn't totally sure what to expect. He figured being wet was in his near future, though. He really hoped that was in his near future.

Poe stayed bent at the waist, watching the waves intently like any sudden movement might alarm something. Then, so quick it made him flinch in place, something jumped from the water and landed near his feet. Closer inspection proved it was Finn's amulet. The pants followed, wetly slapping against rocks standing above the tide washing in. That's when Poe's eyes landed on Finn.

The mermaid pushed his arms against the surf and sat up without assistance, proudly showing off the scales glittering on his skin, though anything below the waist vanished beneath the dark water. There were visible gills on either side of his neck, his hands were webbed with claws replacing the nails, and his smile showed sharper teeth than before though it was still just as shy. Actually, he was far more bashful now, looking up at Poe from beneath his lashes then looking back at the water like he was unsure. Then there was what could only be his tail washing in with the tide beside him. From what little Poe could see, he guessed it had to be longer than what he had first assumed. The same scales glittered over the tail but the part he could see of the fin was sheer.

He found himself struck a little dumb, trying to figure out what the appropriate reaction was or how to ease what was clearly Finn's nerves. At the same time, he was frozen. Finn was beautiful. What else _could_ Poe do?

Finn licked his lips and looked back up to him. “How well do you swim?”

_Oh._ Poe stared back, blinking, trying and failing to think, and just giving in to the moment. He could feel a smile growing on his face. “I'm pretty good,” he answered.

Finn's returning smile was bright, easy, and broad. He raised a hand from the tide, reaching for Poe in invitation.

Again, Poe was frozen, his mind sprinting from one thought to the next, but he had to act or else he feared the moment would leave him behind. Slowly, though without hesitancy, Poe placed his hand in Finn's.

“What about holding your breath?” the mermaid asked, gently luring him into the ocean.

Poe, of course, followed. “Pretty good at that, too.” Again, few things could kill him. Lack of oxygen wasn't one of them.

As Finn drifted away from shore, he never went further under than he was, though his tail disappeared beneath the waves. Poe, for his part, just kept walking, not once sparing a thought to the state of his clothes. If he had, he still probably would have left them on. The nerves not appearing didn't mean they weren't there. Besides, he couldn't look away from Finn long enough to do anything else.

Then, before he knew it, he was swimming, still gripping Finn's hand and being tugged further away from shore, though the mermaid never turned away to look where he was going. Their eyes stayed locked the entire time. Finally, they slowed their speed and went under the surface as one.

The only times Poe swam in the ocean since he had turned were always against his will with no time to look around and try appreciating it. The experience was quite new to him as few things were anymore.

It _was_ dark. And cold. It felt like the darkness could swallow him completely but there was no panicking to be had. Then his eyes adjusted enough to make out the moon's rays filtering through the waves, the multicolored lights from the fair blinking against Finn's glittering scales.

And _Finn_. The mermaid swam closer to him, close enough that he could make out the pinprick of his pupils and the flare of his gils, almost entirely different from how he looked on land but still entirely the same. Or perhaps this is what Poe always expected.

_He must be a siren_ , Poe thought in the moment before their lips met and all things fled his mind. His hand found Finn's hair as he felt another on the back of his neck and jaw. Their bodies pressed together and he felt Finn's tail glide against his leg. Pressure from the ocean seemed to bare down all the harder, constricting him completely, but he didn't feel as cold anymore.

He chased the mermaid's kiss as Finn pulled away only to finally open his eyes, seeing the other look back at him. Poe couldn't read the expression, he didn't have time to before they were kissing again. Finn pushed harder against him, deepening the kiss, and Poe just held on as there was no other way to ground himself in the water. His hands roved up Finn's side, thumb catching lightly against the sharp scales, while his other arm was thrown across the mermaid's shoulders and trying to pull him closer still.

The next time Finn broke away, Poe was able to take a deep breath, opening his eyes again to a much lighter world above the surface. The effect was similar to coming out of a dream he hadn't wanted to leave. Everything was sharper, far more real, and he worried that their moment would be forgotten like any other dream.

But Finn still looked at him the same way, pulled him closer the same way, began to kiss him the same way, so he hadn't needed to worry about it long. Still, he grabbed Finn's shoulders and pulled until they were underwater again.

After that, his mind felt as if it had been swept away with the tide until his legs then his back was pressed against the earth. A larger wave pushed them further along until Poe was more or less on the shore again, water crashing over him and the rocks with Finn's arm protecting his face. Speaking of, the mermaid was on top of him, braced on his arms instead of pressed flush like Poe greatly wanted from the moment. But the mermaid did have quite the self-satisfied smirk.

He couldn't help it. “Are you a siren?” Poe asked with a grin of his own, his nerves having fled somewhere out of the bay.

Finn, _blessed Finn_ , just laughed at him. “Sirens don't exist.”

“What, like, vampires and mermaids?”

“Like Santa and the Easter bunny.”

Poe gave his best fake gasp. “You take that back.”

Finn laughed again, loud and happy, before pressing a little closer and placing a chaste kiss on Poe's lips. “Would it matter if I was a siren?”

“No,” he answered honestly, keeping his eyes half closed in the hopes that he would get another kiss. “I think I'd feel exactly the same. Like I'm the luckiest person alive and grateful to be here for however long you want me.”

Finn stopped and watched him for a moment, something serious and less teasing coming over him, like he was thinking very hard about something. Poe just looked right back at him, trying with some difficulty to put lingering nerves aside. Finally, like an answer, Finn blinked and there was a return to softness in his features.

He leaned forward, pressing completely against Poe, placing a kiss on his cheek before moving along to his neck. Poe's eyes had fallen closed again, trying to keep even breaths as his head roved to the side to give Finn more room. Then, in a quiet voice against his ear, “However long?”

Poe turned his head to look at Finn, finding his soft features shining against the surrounding lights, his eyes boring through him again. That moment more than any other before made him realize the real situation he was in and the very real implications of it. A sense of foreboding passed over him before he pushed it away to nestle down deep in his chest, allowing for just a _minute_ to let everything else wash over himself first.

He rolled to his side until he was able to kiss Finn just as deeply as they had beneath the waves, pushing until they had switched positions, and lost himself in all of the good things in the world for _just a minute_.

They stayed that way for a while, felt like over an hour, only finally calling it quits when the tide rose high enough for Poe to swallow half of the ocean and sputter in surprise while Finn laughed at him, effectively ruining the atmosphere.

* * *

Finn felt like a mess. He could not _for the life of himself_ stop giggling. Somehow, some-freaking-way, his plan had gone above and beyond the best of expectations. The only downside was that he had been too wrapped up in the moment to ask Poe if he'd like to take his clothes off first but he supposed they were both equally responsible for that.

Besides, Poe's grin and easy laughs said he didn't care anyway.

Both of them fully clothed now, they walked along the sandy beach towards the pier, their shoes dangling from their hands that weren't loosely holding each others by a weave of their fingers. They had stayed on the beach and talked for quite awhile, longer than maybe they should have, and obligations meant they had to part ways soon. Neither wanted to. Again.

Finn felt like he was on the cusp of being clingy. He wanted to see Poe _the next day_. But, no, he could do this. He could take it. Besides, if the last date was anything to go by, he needed a well deserved debrief period anyway.

At least Poe seemed so much more open now and less shy. He was adorable when shy but this was still a plus. “So,” the vampire began, “any ideas for next time?”

“Absolutely none,” Finn joked and Poe thankfully laughed in turn before he continued. “I can't wait, though.”

“Me either,” Poe answered quietly. “We could go out and eat again, take me on that infamous sushi excursion you seem so proud of. Visit the lighthouse and the coral reef. Finally watch Mad Max.”

Finn was giggling through all of the offered ideas, biting his lip to try containing his excitement, but the mention of the coral did give him an idea. He tugged Poe's hand to stop their slow walk and sidled in front of him, close enough to get a bigger and more suggestive smile out of the vampire. “I've got an idea.” The answer was a raised, teasing eyebrow, so he continued with a little giggle before getting flirty again, running his hand against Poe's damp shirt. “I showed you my world... Maybe you can show me yours?”

He had no idea what that entailed but he knew it wasn't really this.

Poe glanced down at Finn's chest, lost in thought, before looking back up with that grin again. “How do you feel about heights?”

… Pilot... Wait, could they just do that? “I'm pretty good with them,” he answered without asking all of the questions he wanted to.

Poe just squinted at him, still teasing. “How do you know?”

“You ever look over the edge of a continental shelf?”

The vampire laughed, seemingly convinced. “Okay, but you can't really swim to the bottom.”

“It's just really fast swimming,” Finn chuckled, stealing a quick kiss from a broadly smiling Poe Dameron. “Stop trying to make me scared. I know your game.”

“My _game_?”

“Make me so scared that I sit in your lap the whole time.” Poe let out the loudest laugh Finn had heard from him yet. They both stumbled to the side, their arms wrapping around each other at some point during all the flirting. “I've got you figured out. You guys are all the same.”

“You're right,” Poe laughed, then his voice dropped a bit and he was giving that half-lidded gaze with that grin again that made Finn feel like he was comprised entirely of butterflies. “You've got me figured out. You're far too smart for me, Mr. Midae.”

Without much thought put into it, Finn closed the distance and kissed him deeper, rather enjoying the feeling of Poe's free hand traveling down his back while his sank into the vampire's hair. He couldn't get over how these never seemed to get old but he was getting better at working while his heart lodged into his throat.

It was Poe who pulled away, the first time for him, and immediately looked down between them. “I just covered you in sand.”

Finn laughed far too hard at the deadpan delivery but managed to reel himself in enough to speak. “Please, it's an hourly ritual for me.”

“Vampires making out with you just to cover you in more sand?”

“Yep,” he answered that teasing grin, pulling them back along the path towards the pier. “Told you. I got ya figured out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wait 30 minutes after eating before going for a swim, kids.
> 
> Also I've been using the word "cove" for like everything and that's awful. I'm going to start trying to use my words correctly now. I've also been using faerie, fairy, and fae interchangeably, but we're going to consider that all the same in this universe just because. I don't even know if they are or not but meh.
> 
> Sorry (a little) that I didn't get the story rating change yet, but I've already got their next date planned. Story rating change, ahoy!
> 
> If you find the plot, let me know. I seem to have misplaced it. Maybe I'll swing back around to it a few chapters from now...
> 
> Anyway, thanks so much for reading!!


	11. Chapter 11

Poe hadn't even considered acting like a normal person. Being a normal person meant thinking maturely and logically about his personal situation, and he didn't really want to start thinking yet. After the first date, Poe was so overwhelmed by Finn's smiles and laughs and existence that he thought way, _way_ too much and ended up as a sobbing heap on their new-slightly-used couch.

This time, Poe felt like he was floating with the clouds.

He got home easily enough but found himself so giggly-drunk that he hardly got further than the door, only managing to lean back against and sigh his way down to the hardwood floor. He'd managed to maneuver himself more or less into the living room once the sun started peaking through window blinds, but he was still on his back, playing with the seashell as it moved from hand to hand, a dopey grin on his face as he stared at the different colors the shell reflected in this better lighting. The iridescent look and grooves along the sides reminded him deeply of Finn's scales, and he thought himself incredibly lucky to have been given such a marvel of a gift.

Footsteps approaching took his attention away, and Poe met Snap with a happy grin. “Hey.”

The other man looked somewhere between shocked, concerned, and carefully neutral. “Did you fall off the pier?”

Poe laughed in response, turning it into a giggle until it stretched on for a bit longer than it probably should have, then bit his lip to make himself stop. “No.”

“There's sand in your hair.”

“Yeah,” he sighed out.

“I'm really curious but I'm not entirely sure I want to know.”

How could he sum up what was probably _the_ most magical and romantic experience of his life? He sighed again just thinking it. “Finn's amazing.”

“So I hear,” Snap groaned, lowering himself to sit on the floor, too. “All right, my curiosity won out. Let's start with the seaweed poking out of your pocket.”

Poe looked back at his seashell, running a thumb over it as he remembered the night before. “We went swimming.”

“Intentionally? With your clothes on?”

“He showed me his scales, what he really looks like,” Poe continued with his dopey smile, ignoring the interruption. Then he held the shell up a little higher. “He got me this. Said that he saw it and thought of me... I've got it bad, Snap.”

The other was quiet more or less, not much snark in him when he replied, “I find it weird that you're only just now realizing that.”

Poe watched the light glitter over the shell, taking himself back to the moment when he got the chance to run his hand over the scales on Finn's side and see them glitter the same way, when Finn snorted at him for whatever look had come over his face at the sight. “I think I might-...” The words trailed off without him, and Poe bit his lip again as his smile grew.

The room was silent for a minute until Snap gave a quiet and very exasperated, “Oh boy.”

* * *

Finn sat in the small crab boat, his tail stretching all the way down to the stern as his head rested on his arms which were crossed on the gunwale. He watched the sea pass by as they made their trek back to land, lost in thought about the night before. Skimming across the water reminded him of their swim and of Poe lying on the beach against the waves, his white shirt leaving very little left to the imagination. The way he had _looked_ at Finn, the way he touched and kissed him, like he was precious and- and _beautiful_. And what he had said, about being lucky to be there. It was so corny, it just couldn't be true, but Finn could see no lie in Poe's eyes.

“He's sighing again, boss,” Slip said somewhere behind him.

“You know, I've been thinking,” Nick answered from inside the cabin as he steered the boat. “If Mr. Perfect is a vampire, how was he able to take a picture for that dating site?”

Someone snapped their fingers before Slip started talking again. “You're right! This guy's playing the long con, isn't he? Pretending to be a vampire to get the sexy points in, plus he gets to sleep all day.”

“Win-win!”

“Maybe that's what he wants us to think,” Lloyd chimed in. “Maybe he's a vampire pretending to be a human pretending to be a vampire.”

Nick hummed. “You're gonna have to explain that one.”

“Well, he gets to keep the sexy points about the whole vampire thing, yeah? But if we think he's human, then he doesn't have to be all stereotypical, what with the blood drinkin' and the dracula shit and all that. Then we start getting the whole human idea, right? Cause a little drama, spice up the romance, boom! He's laid.”

Nick hummed at a slightly lower octave. “Seems like a round about way to have sex.”

“No, no,” Slip interjected, “he's got a good point.”

Niner just groaned, “Well, that doesn't solve how he was able to take the picture.”

“Ready for this?” Lloyd asked, building a dramatic pause. “Self-portrait.”

Slip _aah_ 'd while Nick laughed. “Well, he _is_ Mr. Perfect.”

Finn couldn't take it anymore and finally turned around. “Guys, I can _hear_ you, you know.”

“And he lands back to Earth!” Slip cheered, leaning against the open door of the cabin with a smirk. “How was Jupiter, Finn? I hear it's great this time of year.”

Finn just groaned, leaning back against the ship when Nick's voice hit him, the other man not even turning to face the rest of them. “When are you gonna tell us what makes Mr. Perfect so perfect? All I've heard so far is that he's perfect.”

“Yeah,” Slip encouraged, “what did you guys get up to this time?”

They were going to tease him to the edge of the ocean if he told them but they apparently planned to tease him anyway, so Finn rolled his eyes and shrugged. “We went to the fair and then later we... went swimming or something, I don't know.”

Lloyd snorted.

Nick finally turned in his seat. “What he say?”

“You went swimming?” Slip laughed. “Really? Did you whip out the tail? Did he keel over?”

“Yes, we went swimming. Yes, I took off the amulet. No, he's not dead.”

Lloyd was laughing too hard to breathe, so Slip continued through his own chuckles. “But you said he blushed at everything last time. You said he could barely get through a sentence!”

Finn shrugged, looking anywhere but at them. “He was just a little shy!”

“So you took your shirt off?” Nick asked, clearly confused, as the other two howled among themselves.

“Land, Niner,” Finn pointed ahead of them, trying to get the attention off of himself. “Docks.”

Remembering himself and how close they were to shore, Nick turned around and did his job, though not without a head shake and mumbling something about kids these days. Thankfully, there was something of a distraction on land. “Hey, Slip! It's your favorite person come to greet us.”

Slip and Finn looked over the starboard side to find Rey waving at them from the dock they were pulling towards. Slip, predictably, gawked and backed away. “Oh no, not Rey. Aw, man.”

Since he was beside him now, Lloyd blinked up at Slip against the sun. “What about Rey?”

“Arm wrestling match gone wrong.”

“Arm wrestling?”

“Shush! She'll hear!”

Eager for someone else to get teased, Finn chuckled to himself. “Slip was drunk and challenged her to arm wrestling, acting all big and tough. Rey _thought_ he was big and tough and nearly flipped the table when she won. Slip hit the floor-”

“ _Dude_ ,” Slip hissed back as they finally pulled along side the dock. “Uh- Hey, Rey.”

“Hi, boys,” she greeted with a big grin on her face that usually meant nothing good. “How was the haul today?”

“Can't brag,” Nick answered as he began to turn off instruments, “but can't complain. What brings you out here, ma'am?”

“Well, Finn wasn't answering his phone-”

“I forgot to charge it last night.”

“-and I wanted to know how his amazing date went, if the buzz around work is anything to be believed.”

The boys all _ooh_ 'd at Finn, who was only concerned with one part of that sentence. “The airport? They're talking about me? What did they say? What did Poe say?”

Rey giggled at him. “All I know is that Poe's roommate is exasperated to death from a very dreamy and lovesick vampire, according to said roommate's friend.”

Someone in the back guffawed at the word _lovesick_ but Finn was stuck on- “You know his roommate!?”

“I know his roommate's _friend_. Calm down. Still haven't met mystery man himself, who I assume works nights.”

As Finn groaned and Rey opened her mouth to start grilling him for information, Nick let out a low but very attention grabbing, “Oh, shit.” They all turned their attention to Nick who came out of the cabin with his jacket and water bottle, giving his boots a very stern glare while he distracted himself with netting and buckets.

Then there were footsteps on the dock, and Ben walked over to stand beside Rey, who gave them all the same look Nick was giving literally anything that wasn't Ben. He was dressed in full uniform, too, apparently on duty as his dark eyes flicked over everyone in attendance. After quite a long beat of silence, he spoke. “You know, this is why you're all seen as suspicious to law enforcement.”

Rey rolled her eyes. “Hi, Ben.”

Before anyone could get too snarky, Nick kicked something out of his way and made to stand next to Finn. “What can I do for you, officer?”

“I'm not here about,” Ben gestured at their boat like it was a bug he was trying to shoo away, “ _this_. I'm here about him.” At that, he pointed to a very shocked Finn.

“Me?” He blinked, trying to figure why the police and/or Ben would be looking for him and coming up empty. A quick glance around showed that everyone else came up with the same, except Nick, who just looked angrier. “Why me?”

“You went to the fair on the pier last night?” Ben asked, his hands on his hips.

Finn blinked up at him. “Yes?”

“Because I saw you walking away from the pier in the dark with Poe Dameron.”

Someone, probably Lloyd, managed to turn their laugh into a convincing enough cough. Finn didn't think it was very funny. “And?”

Ben crossed his arms. “What were you doing leaving the fair in the middle of the night with that man?”

“Swimming,” Finn answered honestly but he _really_ couldn't help prodding. “If you thought that we were up to something, why didn't you follow and ask us then instead of waiting until the next afternoon?”

Apparently that struck a nerve according to the reddened face and furrowed brow. “Because _Dameron_ has everyone with any authority around here in his pocket. You stay away from that psycho. He's nothing but trouble.”

Finn was suddenly struck with the vision of leaping out of the boat and putting Ben in a choke hold. He probably couldn't reach that high with his sea-legs on, though. Just have to sucker punch him in the dick to even the playing field.

Rey spoke up before he could say anything _really_ stupid, though. “You know Poe? How?”

“Doesn't matter,” Ben grumbled. “I just _wish_ I didn't know him at all.”

Finn snorted. “He spoke well enough about _you_.”

That evidently hit another nerve if Ben waving his finger in Finn's direction was any indication. “That man is sneaky, crafty, unnatural, and will say or do anything to get what he wants. Stay _away_ from him.” With that, Ben turned on his heel and stomped back down the dock.

Finn kept the urge to yell something at the retreating man in check by counting down from one hundred.

By the time the officer was back on land and plenty far away from earshot, Nick let out a sigh that startled everyone, finally breaking the tension. “I take it all back. Mr. Perfect gets a stamp of approval from me.”

* * *

Poe didn't know how he was going to go about doing this but he didn't really care either. _Winging it_ seemed to be the ideal plan since he just came into work and hadn't thought about his approach before hand. In fact, all he'd thought about was the previous date and how the next date was going to go. He hadn't started in on all the ways it could go wrong yet.

To be honest, he was lucky that he even managed to get some sleep. The seashell, now in its safe and coveted place on his bedside table, was all he could stare at for the entire day.

He had even woken up in the same mood and had been humming to himself since at least leaving the apartment. Humming had transitioned into swaying which transitioned into dancing which transitioned at some point into singing without his knowledge or, frankly, his consent. Which was how he walked into the office block of the building near air traffic control.

Poe hummed to himself as he inserted his time card and swayed along as he waited for the machine to beep. “And getting caught in the rain,” he muttered to himself as the machine pinged the okay. He took the card and began walking down the hall, humming along. “If you're not into yoga... If you have half a brain... If you like making love at mid- _AH!_ ”

“Sorry, Poe,” Karé laughed, looking very un-sorry for popping out of her office right in front of him. “Didn't mean to cut you off mid-chorus.”

“No, I-” Oh geez. He looked up and down the hallway. “I wasn't singing.”

“Course not,” she agreed easily, hefting a box in her arms. “I just came by to get some paperwork for storage. I was gonna ask for your help but I think we can handle it. Poe, this is- uh- This is-”

A young woman closed Karé's office door behind her, also hefting a box. She had her hair pulled up into three loose and awkward looking buns with a hoodie and sweatpants on. Actually, she looked kind of familiar. Was she the new girl? Upon noticing him, she shifted the box to one arm and stuck out her hand with a polite smile, which he shook while noting her strength. Not a vampire. Werewolf maybe? “Sorry, I typically work the day shift. Karé needed help. I'm-”

“Ms. Kenobi,” Karé interrupted. “This is Ms. Kenobi. She started a week or two ago and works the mornings. Ms. Kenobi, this is my friend that I told you about, Poe. Poe _Dameron_. He's a _vampire_. And works _nights_.”

While he squinted at Karé's odd behavior, Ms. Kenobi's eyes widened. “ _Oh!_ You're _Poe_! I- I mean, it's _very_ nice to meet you. Um, Leia talks so much about you. Good things. Lovely things.” Something was definitely up. “And that was, um, quite a wonderful voice you have. Was that the Piña Colada-”

“I wasn't singing,” he quickly said, face going hot.

She seemed like she was trying very hard to hide a grin. “Right, of course not.”

“Anywho,” Karé chuckled, shoving into Rey, “we should get going, I guess. Definitely gonna pick this up later. Good seeing you, Poe.”

“Great meeting you, Mr. Dameron. _Really_ great.”

“Um-” Before he could get more than two words out, the pair walked down the hall trying to stifle their giggles. Awesome, he just made a fool of himself in front of the new employee. Then Poe realized that he actually didn't care at all and just smiled as they left, resuming his humming and his pace down the hall. “In the dunes of the cape... I'm the love that you've looked for-”

“Poe.”

He froze.

“We certainly don't discourage singing here, you know. There's no need to try hiding your unusually good mood. Except to keep up appearances, of course.”

He gave a slow wince and turned to Leia's open office door, seeing her sitting behind the desk with a grin. Worse yet, Rose sat in front of the desk with an almost evil smirk. There was nothing that could save him from this. Poe held his breath and just came out with it. “Can I borrow the helicopter?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one that came out feeling clunky so I apologize if it read that way. But a little bit more of Ben being an ass! And I remembered that Rey exists, woo!
> 
> Thank you for reading! More of the boys being dopes about each other in the next chapter.


	12. Chapter 12

Finn was hanging off of the edge of the dock, tail still mostly in the water, while figuratively hanging off of every word the girls gave him. “He was _singing_? He _sings_?”

“He sings very well, actually,” Rey said around her egg and sausage biscuit of a breakfast. “Probably better if it wasn't that song about rain and Piña Coladas.”

Finn happily sighed, trying but failing to imagine what Poe's singing voice must sound like. He knew it was wonderful, though. “I love that song.”

“Of course you do.”

Rose swallowed her bite and giggled. “He danced around the place the whole time I was there when he thought no one was looking. I believe the track list also contained Take On Me and Hooked On A Feeling.”

“I love those songs,” Finn gushed with a large grin. He wasn't sure that he had it in himself to chalk up Poe's behavior to their date despite the running theme of the music choices but he was very happy that Poe seemed very happy. Dancing and singing. He could only imagine. Dancing with Poe Dameron on the beach. Finn gave a forlorn sigh at the thought.

Rey just laughed at him. “Of _course_ you do.”

“More than that,” Rose chuckled, toeing at Finn's arm, “I know something you don't know.”

He blinked at her. “About what?”

“About a certain date that a certain someone is planning for a certain someone else.” His head perked up but she just laughed at him. “I'm not telling you anything but I think you're going to love it.”

Finn knew that they were going flying, presumably, but he decided not to push Rose for more detailed info. He found himself wanting to be surprised for it. Instead, he groaned good-naturedly. While he and Poe had traded a few messages over the last day, they hadn't set a day and time yet. Patience, he reminded himself. Patience or the excitement would wear him out.

Then Rey was laughing. “Meanwhile, I know something _Poe_ doesn't know.” He jerked his head over to her, wondering just what kind of embarrassing secret she could hang over him but didn't get to ask before she started explaining. “When I met him last night, I didn't tell him my name. Me and Karé figured that the more people there are on the inside, the better.”

“The in-” He glanced to Rose, who was nodding in happy agreement, before groaning again in _actual_ frustration. “Guys, c'mon, we aren't the gossip mill.”

“It's not for- Well, okay, it's mostly for gossip,” Rey admitted, making Finn roll his eyes, “but it's more than that, too. We're looking out for you.”

“I would have cornered and grilled him last night,” Rose said, “but he just kept singing and I kinda didn't want to ruin his groove, y'know.”

Rey nodded. “He seems very sweet.”

“Wait.” Finn put a hand up, looking between them suspiciously. “I feel like I'm about twenty paces behind you two. Explain.”

They glanced at each other, teasing smiles gone, seeming to realize they were treading on fragile ground. It was Rose that spoke up first. “You _really_ care about him. We don't want you to get hurt.”

“Poe's not going to hurt me.”

Rey interjected. “He's _very_ old, Finn. He sees the world differently than the rest of us. He sees relationships and _romance_ differently.”

He really didn't want to think too hard about what they were alluding to. Finn was well aware of their age difference and even more aware that there had to be a lot going on in Poe's past that he may never find out. He also knew that Poe wasn't faking anything about their relationship. “Rose and I already talked about this,” he told them firmly. “Poe's not like that.”

Rey shrugged, unaffected. “Probably not, but we're worried.”

“I can handle myself, Rey.”

“We know,” she sighed, “but we don't want you to end up heartbroken, even unintentionally.”

He squinted at them both, his good mood drifting out to sea. “Okay, you know what?” Finn started, reminding himself to stay in check. “Why don't you both stop judging him for what he _is_ , quit with this sneaking around nonsense, and just _talk_ to him. Get to know him a little bit and _then_ we'll talk. Cool?”

The girls looked at each other, seemingly shocked about the level headed logic he was touting. But they both looked back, and Rey nodded. “Cool.”

“Super cool?”

“Yes, Finn. Super cool,” Rose sighed. “We're sorry for butting in, but your suggestion's fair.”

“I know you're just looking out for me,” he replied with a shrug, the irritation seeping away. “I'm fine, though. Really. Actually, I'm-... I'm _great_. I _really_ like him.” He had enough of a mind to watch them both share a look but Finn was thinking back on their date again, far more willing to lose himself in those memories than whatever trepidition the girls wanted to put on his future.

* * *

Manning the tower was stupidly easy in the early morning hours because there was _nothing_ going on. Maybe at a bigger airport there would be something to fill Poe's time, but his job at three in the morning was to basically collect dust. The only reason someone like him needed to be there at all was if something went terribly wrong and the proper expertise was needed. Since it wasn't at the current moment, Poe watched the twinkling lights of the runway from his high vantage point and thought about the reflection of Finn's scales for the millionth time since they last saw each other.

“Poe?”

Should he be worried that he hadn't heard her approach? Well, he wasn't. “Leia?” he responded, only half turning and not really looking.

It didn't deter her and certainly didn't seem to insult her. “Get your things. You're clocking out.”

That got his attention enough to look over at her. “I am?” He wasn't supposed to leave for another hour.

“You're walking me home,” she said by way of explanation and left the doorway she had occupied to go back downstairs.

After blinking between the door and the runway, he figured that she was up to something and it was just easier to go along with it. Poe stood, grabbed his bag, and followed after Leia. It wasn't until he had walked through the airport, waved goodbye to a couple of friends, and finally made it outside of the entrance before he found her again. “Since when do you need protection against the things in the night?”

Leia, who had been dutifully waiting by the door, snorted at him and began to walk.

He followed again, falling into step beside her and waiting for her to do whatever it was she was doing.

“A helicopter ride, then?”

Oh, so this was just so she could tease him in private. Fantastic. Poe drew his shoulders up and roved his eyes over the parking lot and surrounding tree line. “That's- That's good, right? You think that's good? I can't even tell if it's romantic or not. Honestly, who does that for a date? It was my idea anyway. He agreed, said it sounds fun, but does it really? Is he humoring me? What if we're in the air and he decides I'm boring and says he wants to break up and I'm stuck up there with-”

“As much as I hate to interrupt,” she interrupted with a smirk, “I feel like talking yourself into a late grave won't do this date idea any good.” Poe rolled his eyes, but Leia continued. “Besides, I only brought it up to tell you that you can use the Bell unless something ridiculous happens and the media needs it. The Robinson will be on standby, though, so it shouldn't be a problem. And I'm still waiting to hear what evening you're planning this for.”

Poe shook his head, trying to drive out all of his fears. “Thanks, Leia. I don't know when yet. I'll tell you a few days in advance.”

She hummed, like she knew that he was stalling about making definite plans, that he was terrified all over again but also way too eagerly excited. Hell, she probably did know. Snap knew if the constant groaning over the issue was anything to go by.

Then Leia sighed and something more serious came over her. “There is something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Yeah?” Whatever it was, he wasn't ready to hear about it, already thinking up several demons of the past and hoping that it was none of them.

She shook her head as if to dispel his new worries. “It's Ben.”

Poe blinked at her. “Ben.” That was a powder keg waiting to go off, and Poe had been patient and observant about it. If something already happened, the distraction of Finn made him totally miss it. But Leia only ever sounded urgent when people she desperately cared for were in danger and she didn't sound urgent just yet. Perhaps the fuse was only just now lit.

“He's keeping tabs on you.”

Not shocking. Ben didn't like him as much as he didn't like anyone else who wasn't human, though the antagonism was certainly worse. “So? I have nothing to hide.”

“He's doing it because he knows you're dating,” she continued. “He's watching Finn, too.”

Poe stopped walking. Nope. Absolutely not. Hell no. No. “He's doing _what_?”

Leia stopped as well, turning back to him. “Apparently they had a talk yesterday but nothing happened. Finn handled himself.”

“ _What!?_ ” This was so _far_ beyond absolutely any possibility that he was okay with. “What your son has against me is something I'm willing to take, but bringing other people into it-”

“You act like I approve,” she interrupted him again. And she was right, so he shut his mouth and let her say her piece. “We both know that he has had it out for you for years, but I only found out about his involvement with Finn last night. I've looked into it, and Ben has nothing against Finn personally. If anything, he seems to think he's trying to _protect_ him from you. Hence why their conversation didn't go over too well. But Finn handled it, like I said. He's no stranger to my son's ways.”

“I _don't_ like it,” Poe said firmly, making his stance on this matter well known. He was glad enough to know that things hadn't escalated and seemed to have stopped before they began, but bringing Finn into any number of his messes was so so _so_ not okay. Poe had half a mind to find Ben and shake him up a little but that would just do the opposite of scaring him away.

Leia nodded and continued on her path, expecting Poe to follow behind. He did. “I never expected you to like it,” she said dryly. “I just wanted you to know what Ben's up to. He may have already stopped or perhaps he's only just beginning. His future and choices were never clear to me. Regardless, Poe, he's not anymore of a threat today than he was any other day. I'll let you know if I hear anything else. You have more important things to worry about right now.”

“Do I?” he answered with a scowl that couldn't go away. Ben's involvement in the relationship he had with Finn, something he feared was already precarious to begin with, infuriated him.

She just looked at him pointedly and popped up an eyebrow. “Don't you?”

Poe looked at her and took a deep breath. Ben _was_ just being his usually nosy self. As much as he hated that there was a confrontation involving his beloved, Finn knew his tricks and already shut him down. There was nothing else for it at that point. At least, nothing else that Poe could do that wouldn't escalate the situation. As much as he hated the thought, he decided to ask Finn about it.

Until then, he _did_ have more important things to worry about other than Ben's attempt at trolling. “Yeah, you're right,” he sighed. “Thank you for telling me.”

Leia nodded and looked up at the light polluted sky and the bare few stars twinkling through the early morning haze. “I heard that Friday night is supposed to be clear skies.”

That made him smile and for the last of the anger to lift. “Heard that, did ya?”

“I also heard that you're not working that night.”

“You have got to stop setting up my dates for me.”

“Someone needs to do it.”

* * *

Finn had woken up far too early and was unable to go back to sleep. Instead, he had found his favorite rock to lounge against and watched the stars while trying to calm his mind.

He didn't like the constant persecution that Poe was under behind his back. Finn had waffled on texting the vampire about it, just to get it all out in the open so that he knew what was going on, but he didn't really know how to breach the subject.

The thing was that Rey and Rose didn't really mean anything by it. They had made presumptions based on _what_ rather than _who_ he was and decided to try protecting Finn. He couldn't fault them for being cautious but he could for being judgy. That said, one conversation later and they decided to back off and be more open minded about him, maybe at least try talking to Poe first before throwing everything into a teasing gossip mill.

So he wasn't too entirely worried about the girls, but they did manage to highlight Ben's accusations. Even Rey seemed to dismiss them due to the source of the information, and Finn was definitely of the belief that Ben was just being an asshole, but there was something more there, too. Poe was good friends with Leia so he must have known Ben all his life. Why was there tension between them? Was Ben just a jerk to everyone or was there a history?

Poe had said that Ben wanted more power than he deserved. There was a theory running laps around Finn's mind but it just made him frown more. It was possible, though. Given how insecure Ben was about his humanity, the nature of vampirism, and how incredibly kind Poe was towards everything, the theory checked out. Though maybe he should just ask. Or perhaps it wasn't his place.

He cursed Ben for keeping him awake to only think about all of this nonsense that he shouldn't even be thinking about at all. At the very least, Finn's faith in Poe's character was completely unwavering. He just wished others could see what he did.

His phone chimed and chased away his dark thoughts. It was so early in the morning that it was either Niner telling him that they had a surprise workday or- Finn nearly dropped his phone in the water trying to check it then he smiled.

_Poe Dameron has sent you a message through Q-Pid_ _™!_ _Blossoms rain down from the heavens!_

They should really just exchange numbers. Ignoring the app's quirky comments, Finn opened the message with a big smile that only got larger as he read it through.

_I know it's really early but I'm not good with patience anymore. How does Friday sound?_

Finn wasn't great with patience anymore either and could almost vibrate out of his skin at the double meaning that Poe probably didn't even intend. He bit his lip at the thought and typed up a reply.

_Friday sounds perfect. ;)_

It wasn't uncommon for Poe to not respond or to take hours before picking up the conversation again but he had been texting back incredibly quickly over the last few days, as if he really was impatient. So Finn kept his phone against his chest and waited hardly a minute before the phone chimed again. He checked it, tail slapping against the water in his excitement.

_My friend warned me about those winky faces, sir. You aren't fooling anyone. ;) You're up early. Everything okay?_

He gave a forlorn sigh and could practically hear all of his friend's groaning at him. Poe was so kind. And sweet. And funny. Finn laughed and texted back: _Everything's amazing. ;) ;) ;) ;) How proficient are you in the art of winky faces now that you've been warned? ;)_

A new message followed quickly: _Enough to know that I'm losing. Such indecent winking. We shouldn't be in public. ;)_ Finn laughed so hard that he almost fell off the rock when another message came in right behind the first: _WAIT I DDIT MEAN LIKE THAT or I did I don know I haven no idea anymore oh no I mean im like we_

There was a part of Finn that desperately wanted to stay quiet and watch Poe's complete meltdown but that would be cruel so he texted back a message instead. _Friday just keeps looking better and better ;)_

Poe's message took two full minutes to chime in and it was simply: _youre killing me_

Finn sent back a series of kissing faces and hearts before pocketing his phone and diving back in the water, opting to head home and either keep texting Poe or finally get more sleep. Texting sounded way more fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! Sorry for the long wait again. Also sorry that this chapter was a little less happy-go-lucky, but it's going to be mountains of fluff next time. And probably a little more than that. winky face lol
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	13. Chapter 13

Pre-flight checks were a must in every situation before one was about to go up. Safety first and all that! But the check that usually took about ten to fifteen minutes was now running on an hour and a half. There was nothing wrong, though. Just Poe. He was wrong. He was all wrong. He was freaking out again. Everything was going wrong.

After the fourth check and sixth walk around the helicopter, Poe forced himself to take a deep breath. The fact that he was nervous was just making him _more_ nervous.

“Nothing's going to go wrong,” he told himself, hearing Snap's voice somewhere in the back of his head. “Everything's going to be fine. We're going to be stuck in an enclosed space for the better part of thirty minutes or whatever and nothing's going to go wrong. It's going to be great. It's going to be awesome. You're being silly. You're being ridiculous. You're being such a freaking lunatic, Poe, dammit- No, it's fine. Everything's fi- _crap_ -”

Finn was walking down the runway towards the helicopter pad, towards Poe, with Karé keeping pace beside him. For one, Finn was early. And yeah, sure, Poe was already early but still. Second, _Karé_ _was talking to him_. He couldn't make out anything she was telling him but they were laughing and smiling so maybe it was nothing bad.

Poe was jogging to meet them halfway before he knew what he was doing. “Hey!”

Then Finn turned towards him, his smile going wider and eyes going softer, and the world kind of stopped turning. Finn was dressed practically for their adventure with jeans, a shirt, and a jacket. He looked incredible. Meanwhile, Poe had spent most of the day trying to pick out his outfit and wasn't shocked to find that he paled in comparison. He just hoped he looked good _enough_ tonight.

“Hi,” Finn finally answered with that glowing smile.

Only then did Poe realize that they had both stopped in front of each other and that he was smiling broadly back. “Hey,” he repeated.

“So anyway,” Karé cut in, “I'll be up in the tower in about ten minutes. Be ready to call in.”

“Yeah. Of course,” he nodded as she turned away and began walking back, keeping a smirk on her face.

Finn let out an awkward laugh. “She was at the front of the building and recognized me from the museum.”

Of course she did. Poe nodded. “Karé's the good sort.”

He was just about to begin fretting about how awkward he was making the situation when Finn stepped forward and placed a soft kiss against Poe's lips, chaste and gentle and fleeting. It caught Poe's breath and made his eyes flutter closed but it was already over by the time he caught up. Finn leaned back with his own smile and a touch of concern. “That okay?”

“That's amazing,” he whispered, not really thinking about the words before hearing them tumble out of his mouth. But at least it made Finn laugh. Poe cleared his throat. “Um, you ready?”

Finn bit his lip – totally not distracting at all – and looked over the pilot's shoulder. “I've never been in something like that before.” Then there was an eager smile that was _far_ too distracting. “I'm ready. Give me the beginner's lecture.”

* * *

When Finn had asked to see Poe in his natural habitat, he meant to get a good look at the vampire side. He clearly should have been more specific, because piloting seemed to be Poe's _real_ habitat. He took Finn on the ten cent tour, so to speak, and he was beautiful while talking through everything, almost getting lost in it. Thankfully, Finn paid rapt attention, not wanting to screw this up somehow. He was nervous, but the excitement outweighed that by a large margin.

Then Poe handed him some super bulky headphones. “This is how we'll talk,” he explained. “It'll be really loud up there. You _sure_ you want to do this?”

“Completely.” He felt plenty safe, so that wasn't a problem. He was looking forward to seeing Poe piloting the helicopter as much as watching the world from so high.

Poe, however, looked shy and nervous again. He took a deep breath and came back to himself with a soft smile. “Okay,” he said, leaning forward to place a tiny kiss against the edge of Finn's lip. “I hope you love it.”

“I think I might,” he answered breathlessly but Poe was climbing into the craft before any double meaning could be inferred, much to Finn's relief and disappointment. He climbed in behind Poe, sat in the co-pilot's seat, and put on the headphones.

While Finn worked on getting his harness on, which wasn't hard, Poe turned on their headphones and began talking to the tower, his voice echoing through the helicopter and the speakers. Karé's voice filtered back to them. “You're clear, Poe. Have fun! Don't do any loop-de-loops.”

Poe sighed and flipped a switch, cutting the transmission. “All right!” he exclaimed with a daring grin and way more enthusiasm. Finn could hear the whine of the rotors beginning to move. “Last chance to run, buddy.”

“I'm here, Poe,” Finn laughed, almost unable to hear his own voice already. “Not going anywhere!”

The pilot just flashed him a delighted smile and hit a few more switches, the rotors turning faster and the chopper getting louder. All too soon, they were being lifted off the ground.

Now _this_ was a sensation he hadn't felt before. Finn knew what it felt like to fall, to be weightless. The ocean was vast, after all. But to be lifted up by a power not his own that he had no control over, that wasn't tethered to anything on the surface and lifted of its own power. There was a brief moment of unexpected panic, of his stomach tightening and throat closing. Then he looked at Poe.

The vampire's grin was wide as they lifted away from the ground, pure happiness radiating from him. This was his element, and Poe glowed in it.

Finn took a deep breath and relaxed, the fear slipping from his mind. Watching Poe like this? Nothing was better.

As they began to move forward, Poe glanced to him before looking back to the controls. “How you doing, sweetheart?”

_Sweetheart_. That was nice. “Amazing,” Finn answered entirely too honestly.

Poe just flashed him another beautifully happy grin as they climbed higher and higher.

It was the lights from the ground that managed to take Finn's attention away from Poe's brilliance. _This_ was something he certainly hadn't experienced before. Their little town was nice, almost quaint, but was mostly a port. Industry, canals, wildlife refuges- The town wasn't much on beauty but it was a wonderful place to call home. Up here, though, the entire world looked different. The buildings and highways glittered so densely and brightly that he hardly had anything to compare the sight to. Perhaps the night sky in the middle of the ocean where light pollution failed to reach. But then there _was_ the ocean reaching around the town and into the bay where he lived – He could see his house from here! – that was an inky black except in the industrial part of town, where it reflected the lights like a mirage, making the whole town look double the size.

Finn knew that his eyesight was better than a human's, but Poe's must have been even better than that. He must be able to see _everything_. Finn was already overwhelmed but in the best of ways.

“I'll take us around,” Poe's voice said in his ear right before the helicopter began to turn towards the bay. It had taken Finn a good twenty to thirty minutes to get to the airport from the shore. It had taken Poe about twenty to thirty seconds to fly over it. “Still good?” There was a laugh in the pilot's voice, as if he already knew the answer.

“This is _incredible_ ,” Finn finally said, his mouth dry. “I never thought it would look like _this_. And I knew they were fast, obviously, but this is crazy!”

“Good,” was Poe's only answer. When Finn looked back to him, their eyes met for the barest of seconds, but it was enough to see Poe's proud and beaming smile before he looked back to the controls. He didn't think it was really possible, but the pilot looked even more delighted now that they were in the air. Less excited, though, and far more like he could cry of joy at any moment.

Finn started laughing and found that he almost couldn't stop himself. “Thank you, Poe,” he said with a shake of his head, watching the lights of the town sweep by below them. “Thank you so much.”

“Trust me,” Poe laughed, “this is my absolute pleasure.”

At the thought of _pleasure_ , Finn's mind jumped to other things and he took another look at his beautiful pilot. Maybe. _Maybe_. It wasn't really about playing his cards right at this point. Poe was far too open to be like that. Really, it was about wherever the night took them. He figured it was impossible to be disappointed if things _didn't_ take a more lecherous turn, though. Poe was amazing at blowing Finn's expectations out of the water. Whatever they did, it was going to be incredible if they did it together. He looked back out to the lights of the town, the water dancing in the night. He didn't want this to end.

Naturally, one lap around the bay and it was ending all too soon. It was the same exact route Poe had said they'd make when embarking on this journey, but it sounded so much longer before they set off. All too soon, they were going back towards the airport, Poe conversing with Karé in the tower in some jargon that Finn couldn't keep up with, and then they were landing on the same helipad they had lifted from.

Poe took his headphones off and Finn mimicked him, the entire world blaring back into his ears as if he'd been deaf all his life. The whining rotors were still a bit shrill in his ears, but the pilot's bright grin made it impossible to grimace at the sound. “Well?”

Finn almost had to shout over the noises that were slowly but surely dying away. “Poe, that was incredible!” Just repeating himself but it deserved a repeat.

“I'm sorry we couldn't stay longer,” Poe said with his big smile and an almost sad spark in his eyes.

But Finn understood more now than he did an hour ago. There was no telling how expensive that one little lap around town was, and they were able to do it for _free_! So he shook his head at the ridiculous notion of that flight being any less than perfect. He didn't even have to shout over the sounds now. “Are you kidding? That was _amazing_ , Poe. I totally get why it was short but that was _awesome_.”

Poe just laughed at his excitement and swiftly got himself out the harness. “I'm really glad you enjoyed it,” he said as he began to climb out of the helicopter, Finn right behind him. “Like really _really_ glad. Like you have no idea.”

Once their feet was on solid ground again, which was just as jarring of a feeling as the first time Finn walked on land, he laughed back at his pilot. “What? As if a helicopter ride was going to be a mood killer?”

“You never know!” Poe grumbled, giving a big shrug and a lopsided grin. He looked _so_ relieved and relaxed now, like they had just gotten over some invisible hurdle and now everything was smooth sailing here on out.

Finn wasn't sure what that meant. Did he pass some sort of unforeseen test? Was this more important to Poe than he had realized? Did they somehow grow closer without him noticing? He pushed the worry down and tried to embrace that this was a good thing. Poe was happy. That meant everything was perfect. “Kiss me?”

Poe cupped his jaw and leaned in without any more prompting, taking Finn's lips in a kiss that was just barely on this side of chaste. Before Finn could reach out and pull him closer, Poe inched away with a breathless smile. “Yeah?”

“I just wanted to see if you'd do it,” Finn laughed with a smile that ached his cheeks, but Poe was laughing hard and smiling, bumping into Finn like that night by the pier.

“Does that mean I'm easy?”

“Nah. I'm easier,” Finn answered, his smile making it a little difficult to peck the soft kisses against Poe's lips. “I don't even need to be asked.”

Poe giggled (which was unexpected and incredible) before grabbing him by the hips and pulling them close together, finally taking a kiss deep enough to briefly satisfy that part of Finn that's been rattling around in urgency the past week or so.

When Poe pulled away again, he didn't go far, pressing their foreheads together and breathing the same air. Finn was afraid of speaking through the tender moment and ruining it somehow, but Poe's voice ghosted over his neck perfectly. “What were your plans tonight?”

“Whatever your plans were,” he answered honestly, a hint of worry just _there_ but going ignored again in favor of focusing on this closeness. “We didn't really think that out too well, did we? Were you doing anything else?”

Poe shook his head, and Finn wasn't sure which question he was answering. “What do you want to do?”

He hummed in thought and almost maybe a little in pleasure at their closeness. But still, he had two paths here. One: he could toss the question right back and end up in a feedback loop that would hopefully be more flirty than frustrating before they decided on something. Two: he could just say what he wanted and hope that Poe would speak up if that didn't strike his fancy. Finn chewed on his bottom lip in thought, then continued doing it because it had drawn Poe's eyes in a look he wanted to see more often.

Well, that decided it.

“You still wanna see Mad Max?”

That broke whatever distracted and almost hungry look that had spread across Poe's features, dissolving into another laugh, surprised. “Dinner and a movie?”

“I know this great Chinese take-out place that doesn't close until midnight.”

“The one with the tiny weird egg rolls?”

Finn laughed, somehow ridiculously pleased that they both knew the place, making their world just a little smaller and more comfortable, just for them.

* * *

Snap had traded shifts and was working the night, meaning he wouldn't be getting home until around seven or eight the next morning. Then there was Finn, excited and happy. Things were falling into place and making a picture that Poe was too afraid to look too hard at.

Then it occurred to him that Finn was probably hoping to get lucky. And, honestly, that did sound like a lot of fun and just one more thing to have anxiety about, but it wasn't what was giving Poe pause.

This was _comfortable_.

They had giggled their way into Poe's shared apartment, which was thankfully kept more or less clean. After putting the extra plate they bought for Snap away in the fridge, the two of them cuddled up on the couch. Finn figured out the Netflix after Poe admitted his ignorance regarding any technology made post-1998, and they began to eat as the movie started, Poe's feet up on the coffee table with Finn snuggled into his side and huddled under his arm.

This was almost _too_ comfortable. Poe could get used to this, and the thought almost frightened him. Relationships were a terrifying thought for him on their own, but he found himself falling hard and ridiculously fast for the mermaid in his arms. When exactly did this happen? When did they become this? It was the third date. Surely it was too soon for being so close?

Maybe the attraction went both ways but his feelings were thus far one sided. That would kind of make more sense. He wasn't sure what to think or what he was doing or if he was just fretting over nothing.

Either way, he still wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to the movie, especially after they were done eating and really cuddled up together. He held Finn close and shut his eyes, breathing in the moment and just letting himself be.

“Should I go?” was the quiet question that made his eyes pop open. Finn had turned his head and was giving him a carefully blank if slightly concerned look. “Do you want to sleep?”

“No.” No. God, no. Hell no. Poe squeezed the other a little closer. “I'm just enjoying holding you more than I am watching the movie... no offence to guitar flamethrower guy.”

Finn blinked up at him, like he was trying to read him, like he didn't completely believe it, but eventually smiled and rolled around until they were facing each other on the suddenly extremely narrow couch. “I don't think he minds that much,” he muttered with the most charming grin Poe's possibly ever seen and pecked a kiss on his chin.

Before Finn could pull too far away, Poe chased his lips to capture in a real kiss, deciding to maybe recreate that night on the beach and forget the more worrying thoughts trying to plague him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, yes, the only context I have about helicopters is that my dad would occasionally fly in one for work about twenty years ago. Things are likely wrong but if something is annoyingly and glaringly obvious, let me know and I'll fix it.
> 
> Anywho! Back to Flufftown, population: 2. I hope you guys liked it and are ready for the next chapter as much as I am.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note the rating change. Finally. We're all so proud.
> 
> Bit of a warning that Poe gets all melancholy a little in here.

This was slow and sweet and perfect. The kisses were lazy, the touches gentle, and Finn was sure that he was losing his mind. Poe's fingers hardly ghosted over him, leaving goosebumps and shivers and _want_ in their wake. There was a constant thrum for _more_ beneath his skin that was just barely kept in check by Poe's sweet affection.

It made Finn _want_ to slow down. It made him want to savor every second.

So there he was, a mermaid out of water, lying on the couch of a two centuries old vampire, allowing the other to kiss him into pure oblivion. He kind of wanted to consider how in the world he came to this moment, but his mind just couldn't muster up enough thought to wander.

Poe's hand cupped the back of his jaw again, gently guiding and keeping him close. They weren't very chaste anymore, having crossed that bridge quite a while ago. Now the kisses were a little more sloppy, less pressing of lips and more meeting of tongues, but while it was still way more intimate, it was very slow and gentle and sweet to the point that Finn wondered if his nerve endings would just give out any minute now.

There was something to be said about that night by the pier, but this was entirely different. Less of a fantasy, really. There was more heat between them now that felt real and raw. He kind of wanted to just lose himself in it.

And maybe that had kind of been the plan the whole time, but he didn't want to miss a chance at that fantasy romance again. In short, he wasn't sure what was supposed to happen tonight... Wait, when did he start getting anxious about this?

It was Poe that pulled away first, and Finn didn't chase him. He just hoped that he didn't somehow clue Poe in on his hang-ups and ruin the moment.

The vampire still had a palm against his jaw, thumb brushing against Finn's lips. It took just about every ounce of self-control he had to not dart his tongue out to meet it. Poe staring at his lips wasn't helping much.

“Should we take this somewhere else?” Poe asked quietly before his eyes shot up to Finn's, color blushing his cheeks. “I- I mean, do you wanna stay the night? Or- Wait, um- I thought maybe we- Or not. This is fine. I'm fine. I'm perfect. This is perfect. We're perfect. I don't know what I was-”

“Hey.” Finn's hand, which had a found a permanent home on Poe's lower back and was loathe to leave it behind, brushed lightly against Poe's chin. Somehow, he felt calmer when the other was babbling like that. It was amusing and kind of made the world seem a little simpler. “I'd love to stay if that's what you want. And if you want more, I'd love that, too.”

Poe smiled and closed his eyes, looking like he was about to apologize for being so ridiculously cute. “I'm probably not as dark and mysterious as you imagined, huh?”

Finn snickered and kissed the edge of Poe's lips. “If I was looking for tall, dark, and mysterious, I probably wouldn't be on this couch right now.” Poe was plenty mysterious but not really in an entirely sexy way. Finn just knew that he had a past about him that he'd probably never know more about. Dark, though? Poe was all bubbles and glitter and butterflies. He was cute and _sweet_ and kind and adorable. There was nothing stereotypically dark about this vampire.

Especially from the way he was pouting right now. “I'm tall.”

“We're the same height, baby,” Finn laughed and kissed him again. “I know that _I'm_ short.”

Poe smiled, rolled his eyes in a put-upon way, and moved to get up with a firm hold on Finn's hand. Finn let him lift him from the couch and lead him further into the apartment after turning off the forgotten movie.

He should probably be nervous right now but he'd worry about that later.

* * *

Poe was certain he could vibrate out of his skin at any moment. He wasn't really nervous about sex. (It's great. It's fine. He's had it in just about every form imaginable. He's kinda over it.) He was nervous about sex _with Finn_. Having feelings for the guy wasn't a new revelation, but he was kind of just realizing how deep those feelings were spiraling. Sex with the guy wasn't exactly going to put a pause on that so he could think everything through carefully first.

Was he moving too fast?, Poe asked himself as he led Finn down the hall. Or had he been moving too slow?, he wondered as he pushed open his bedroom door. If they were going to do this, shouldn't he try being a little more romantic about it? Or at least be passionate or something? Shouldn't they have been kissing their way down the hall and tossing their clothes as they went? Shouldn't one or both of them be begging right now? Is he doing this all wrong?

He hadn't had a first time with someone he cared about in so long. He hadn't _cared_ in so long.

Finn let out a happy gasp that pulled Poe straight out of his panicked monologue. “You still have the seashell!”

… Had... that been up for debate? Was Finn actually _shocked_ that he still owned the single most precious object he came across in over a century? He just got it like a week ago!

But Finn, not letting go of their joined hands, stepped forward to the shell sitting primly on his bedside table before turning around and flashing Poe with a truly beautiful happy smile. “I'm so glad you like it, you have no idea.”

Poe felt his heart melting like hot wax over his lungs. It even hurt a bit and made him want to burst into tears right there. “Of course, I-” Ah, fuck it. Poe grabbed the back of Finn's neck and pulled him into a deep (and finally _passionate_ ) kiss. He pressed closer and started moving them both over to the bed. “I love it,” he gasped between kisses, unsure if Finn even _heard_ him. “I love it. It's perfect. Of course, I still have it. It's beautiful. You're beautiful.”

He let out an undignified yelp as Finn fell back into the bed and took Poe with him, bouncing on the old quilt. He wasn't totally sure if it broke the moment or not, but Poe had braced himself over the top of Finn, still pressing into him, and just stared at that blinding smile. The smile grew straight into a victorious and very flirty smirk. “How do you want to do this?”

Poe had absolutely no _clue_ how he wanted to do this. His mind sounded like a never-ending tornado siren right now. “Play it by ear?”

Finn leaned up to kiss him just as deeply as before, a little dirtier this time, making Poe moan a bit against his will. He broke the kiss and pushed Finn away. “Anything you don't want?”

“I'll tell you,” he answered in between peppering kisses along Poe's jaw.

That sounded like a good idea, actually. Poe pushed forward to move his lips down the line of Finn's throat, _loving_ how the mermaid moved his head back to make room for him, and traveled down to the collar before remembering that clothes existed. A hand squeezed his hip, and he decided to speed this up a little bit.

His mind and his body were at odds, though. One hand moved to wrestle with the buttons on Finn's shirt while the other tried to take his own jacket off. It probably wasn't the sexiest maneuver he'd ever failed to accomplish. _Fuck_ , he sat up, legs bracketing Finn's hips, to take off the infernal jacket.

Except Finn sat up with him, hands melding to Poe's ribs and lips ghosting down his neck. There was a hint of tongue there that was driving him a little mad before Finn stopped at the base of his throat and seemed intent on leaving a mark. Poe's head fell back as Finn laved and sucked at the tender spot to whatever satisfaction he had in mind.

“ _Gods_ ,” Poe managed to gasp out before Finn rolled them over to switch their positions. He kind of just vaguely realized it was happening during the rush of everything else. Before, there had been a section of his brain that was a bit worried about foreplay and getting himself ready among all of the anxiety he was bound to be overcome with. Turns out, he had been worried over nothing. He was so hard that he was dizzy.

Finn pushed Poe's forgotten jacket aside and lifted his shirt enough to kiss down his stomach. “Tell me if you want me to stop?”

“Yeah. Yeah.” Wait, what? Poe opened his eyes – When did he close his eyes? – and glanced down to see Finn kissing his belly button and undoing his pants. “ _Oh_.” Okay. Yeah, okay. He knew where this was going. It had been a while, but he still had a good clue about where this was going. But shouldn't they be doing this the other way around? The whole reason why he practically attacked Finn in the first place was with a point to make him feel good and beautiful and amazing and not shocked that someone kept a precious gift he'd given them. But the palm pressed against his erection made his thoughts white out and his head roll back again. “You're so perfect. You're so beau-”

His words were cut off by a sloppy kiss that was gone just as quickly, leaving him gasping in the empty space. “You're amazing, you know that?” Finn said the second before his mouth covered the head of Poe's dick.

Poe probably would have had some sort of rebuttal to that if not for the frankly insane amount of distraction he was under. His hips jacked once before he found the control somewhere to still himself, and he was pretty sure that there was some shrill sound that escaped his throat at some point, too. Finn's tongue was dancing on the underside of his cock, and all Poe could do was screw his eyes shut to concentrate on maybe not coming _immediately_. His shoulders lifted off the bed of their own will, hands finding Finn's back and just holding on.

It hadn't been _that_ long, had it? But no, he knew what it was. His ancient heart pumped like it was racing in a derby, blood flying through his veins, mind a light as it hadn't been a very _very_ long time. The sex wasn't going to put a stop to this like the colder and more logical side of his brain had been debating for the last couple of weeks. There was a minor, far off sense that he was dooming himself here, and Poe didn't give a damn anymore. Not right now anyway. Then Finn sank just a bit further, and Poe forgot everything again, his mind completely back in the moment.

And the tension and the urgency and the- “Wait, wait. Stop.” Finn pulled off immediately, probably worried or something, but Poe hauled him up as best he could, trying to kiss him. “I just- I want- I want you-”

Then they were kissing again.

He didn't want to be misunderstood, really. Poe knew what his demands had sounded like, but that would take _too long_ and he wanted _now_ but he wanted now _with Finn_. When was the last time he was this impatient? Didn't Finn deserve more from their first time, anyway?

Resolving to do so much better- to _be_ so so much better next time- Would there even be a next time if he lost his mind and didn't do his best _this_ time? What if this was his _only_ time?

Finn rolled them back over to their original positions and moaned into the kiss, Poe realizing belatedly that he'd been grinding into him. Taking himself out of his mind and into the moment _again_ , he forced himself to coordinate enough to get Finn's pants open, a task that proved difficult from Finn's whimpers and gasps.

Eventually, _fucking finally_ , Poe managed to wrap his hand around Finn's dick. Their kiss was broken apart, allowing Finn to groan _loudly_ right in Poe's ear, sounding absolutely incredible. Poe gasped and started nipping along the other's jaw and neck and ear. “Yes, sweetheart. Yes- _Ah_ -”

And now Finn's hand was around his cock, too, and he was definitely not going to last very long _at all_. Finn's other hand found its way into his hair, pulling him closer into a filthy kiss that was all tongue and teeth. With a decidedly unsexy grunt, Poe found the conscious thought to twist his wrist and move faster, trying to make this as good as he could given his current circumstances.

Finn thrust into his hand twice, leg rubbing hard against Poe's erection, and came with a _wanton_ moan and beautifully shocked face- Poe pumped his hips hard once and yelled into Finn's neck as he came with him.

It took a while for Poe's brain to swim back to his body as he took in a world-shattering breath, signifying that, yep, he was still here. His eyes hadn't opened yet, but he was aware of a zipper or button or something digging into his cheek. That had been fast. Like, even for quick standards, that was pretty fast. Finn was way too good for _fast_. That had just been all lust and pent up need from the last few weeks. Yeah, it was good, it was freaking great, but it should have been so much more. Finn deserved so _so_ much more. Poe should have done better. He should have _shown_ him how he felt. And he did, he tried to. Or maybe that was it. Maybe that was all his feelings were good for, and _he_ wasn't good enough for Finn. That made a lot more sense. He should have been better.

“We didn't even get undressed,” Poe mumbled against Finn's shirt, wanting to be the first to address the overwhelming elephant in the room.

The chest he was hiding against was lifting and falling at a steadily slower pace until finally evening out into something calmer. And then, surprisingly, Finn _laughed_. “We'll work up to nudity next time.”

Poe lifted his head, almost startling himself to find Finn's lazy satisfied smile staring back at him. Whatever face he was wearing, Finn's eyebrows furrowed at it. “What?”

He surged forward into a kiss just as deep and desperate as the one that started this whole mess. Speaking of messes, though, Poe tried to squirm closer to Finn only to remember what they had just been up to. He broke the kiss and looked down between them, reminiscent of their night on the beach with thoughts of doubt and fear far away again. “Ew.”

Finn was laughing again, sounding less winded and far happier. But then he tried to get up. “Where's the bathroom? I'll get us something to-”

“No, no!” Poe pushed him back down on the bed. “No, I'll go find a towel or something. You stay-”

“Poe, I can get it.”

“Let me-”

“Poe-”

He straddled Finn's waist and held his biceps down as if it was really doing any good by the smirk on Finn's face, but they had stopped flopping around at least. “I'm the host. I'll go.”

“Kiss me?”

Like a compulsion, Poe leaned forward and kissed him again, realizing after a moment that it was lasting a little long. “Okay, I'll be-” He paused to kiss Finn's lips again. “Right back. I'll-” Kiss. “Be right back.” Kiss. “Right back.” And he was finally free and trotting away to return as fast as he could.

* * *

Finn had tried to stay awake knowing that Poe slept during the daylight hours, but it was damn near impossible.

Their pants had been fine but both of their shirts were ruined and currently in the wash. Or were. Anyway, Poe had the absolutely amazing idea of cuddling while shirtless, and it put Finn right to sleep as much as he tried to fight it.

Finn woke up to the sight of his seashell sitting in a dazzling array of colors on the end table. It really was pretty and it brought a smile to his face knowing that Poe kept it so close to where he slept.

Which reminded him. He looked down to find Poe's limp arm wrapped around his waist, feeling steady, warm breaths against his upper back. It was a ridiculously early hour according to the clock, the sun not even up yet. Then what had woken him?

There was a rustling a few rooms over... Ah. That would be Poe's roommate. _Family_ , he had said. What had he called him? Snap?

“Poe?” a voice sounded from a few rooms away. “You up?”

The vampire that had been sleeping so warmly against his back jerked and snorted adorably. Before Finn could turn and face him, Poe muttered, “Oh, that's gonna be awkward.”

Oh. Joy. “Should I hide or leave?” Finn asked softly.

“Neither?” Poe sounded almost offended with the choice and kissed the back of Finn's neck. “He's cool. Just gonna tease me for the next fifty years. Unless you're uncomfortable.”

“No, I'm okay.” It was an honest answer. Poe seemed to like Snap, so he was open to the idea of liking Snap, too, and not making assumptions too quickly.

Poe hummed and pressed another kiss to his shoulder. “Good, because he's gonna come check on me if I don't answer. Swear, he thinks I'm as frail as I am old.” As Finn snickered at the thought, Poe sat up enough to lean over and plant a kiss on his lips. “When do I get to see you again?”

Finn smiled at the question, loving how sickeningly sweet Poe was every time he asked. “As soon as possible.”

“I can work with that,” he answered and kissed Finn again around his smile.

The voice from the other room interrupted them again. “Your phone's here, so I know you're home. You want eggs? Should I make enough for three, lover boy?”

Poe raised his eyebrow at Finn, who nodded. “Yeah! Make enough for three.”

Silence met them, one they tried hard not to interrupt with their giggling, before finally breaking. “Shit, wait, what? Seriously? I- I mean, _okay_!”

They kissed again between their laughs before Poe began to get out of bed, holding tight to Finn's hand. “C'mon! You ravished me. Time to meet the family.”

Finn chuckled, making no move to get out of bed. “He probably heard that.”

“He did,” Snap answered from what was likely the kitchen. “He definitely heard that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And for Poe's next trick, he's going to meticulously plan and schedule his next adventure in sex with Finn. It's gotta be PERFECT, guys.
> 
> Anywho, more soon. Thanks, folks.


	15. Chapter 15

After Poe made a dignified sprint into the next room to make sure their shirts were clean and dry (realizing belatedly he just missed an opportunity to let Finn borrow one of his), he brought their clothes back to his bedroom and bid an internal goodbye to Finn's lovely scales before they were hidden again beneath the cotton. Smile undeterred, he happily took Finn's hand and lead the way to the kitchen.

By the time they arrived, bacon and sausage sat on a plate while Snap cracked a few eggs into a pan. “Good date, I take it,” he greeted without looking up from his job.

Poe giggled, a little flustered. “Yeah.” He felt like a damn teenager and was loving every second of it.

Before he could gain a better foothold in the conversation, Snap had already turned to Finn. “How you like your eggs?”

“Scrambled's fine,” the mermaid said with a happy smile that made it seem he wasn't nervous at all. And hell, maybe he wasn't. Maybe he was that confident... Poe knew he was giving a dopey smile but really didn't care.

Snap wiped his hands off on a dish towel and extended one out to Finn. “I'm Snap. It's great to meet you.”

“Finn,” he answered with that perfect smile, shaking the other's hand.

“I certainly hope so,” Snap chuckled, smiling back. “ _Really_ hope I didn't interrupt anything.”

Poe knocked a shoulder against Finn. “Just woke us up, is all,” he answered for them, releasing Finn to make a small journey to the fridge. “Get your head out of the gutter.”

“Uh-huh.”

Snap sounded entirely unconvinced, so Poe just barrelled on. “Finn, you want anything?”

“No, just water.” _Just water!?_ Poe poked his head up, hand kind of precariously grasping a bottle of blood. First scrambled eggs and now _just_ water? Finn deserved more than-! “Can I help?” Finn asked Snap with bright, eager eyes.

Poe had the sudden urge to make a seven-course meal. “I'm gonna help, too.”

“Easy,” Snap laughed. “It's just eggs. They're basically done already. There are plates in that cabinet, Finn, if you wanna grab three for us.” Poe felt his lips pull down in something like a pout that he hoped resembled a scowl. “Poe, get some water for your man.”

Face warming up, the vampire fumbled his bottle before closing the fridge and beginning to search for glasses.

Finn laughed and set the table while Snap finished cooking and brought the food over for them all to share. Once everyone was seated, drinks at every spot, they dug in. Poe, even though he was confident Finn didn't mind the blood, drank water with his meal, too.

“Thanks for cooking,” the mermaid said even before he took a bite.

“My pleasure,” Snap said with a smile, cutting into his sausage like someone with civility. “Gotta learn how when you live with a guy like Poe.”

“Hey, I cook!” And he would have made breakfast if there hadn't been a mermaid in his bed.

But Snap just kicked his chair with a broad smile. “I'm teasin', man. I just got off work starving and none of the usual places were open this early.”

“I'm not too good at it. Just know the basics,” Finn admitted.

Poe jumped on that topic faster than he thought was humanly possible. “I can teach you.”

The mermaid looked up at him, blinking those beautiful eyes like the offer surprised him. “Yeah? I'd love that!”

“Yeah, next time! If you want.”

“Sure!”

Snap just chuckled at them, drinking his juice.

After a little more casual conversation and cleaning of the dishes after the food was gone, Finn announced that he had to go. The sun was already starting to rise at that point, but Poe was not entirely ready for the night to end. He sucked up his clingy feelings and walked Finn to the door as Snap gave them a bit of privacy.

They shared a more or less chaste kiss before Finn pulled away with a wicked grin. “I had fun.”

“Me, too,” Poe whispered, smiling back. “See you soon?”

“So very soon,” Finn promised, staring at Poe's lips like he didn't want to leave either. “Text me later?”

“Absolutely.”

“Kiss me now?”

Poe leaned in for another kiss, inching away after a moment of bliss. “You're training me well.”

“I know,” Finn chuckled, then opened the door and was gone.

Poe allowed himself to stay warm and uplifted, staring at the door like it was the best thing he ever saw, before coming back around to a panicked state. “Snap! I gotta get him a gift! I forgot to get him a gift! This is the third date, and I didn't get him-!”

Snap groaned from his spot on the living room couch, which shocked Poe who had been yelling into the kitchen. “And here I thought that phase was behind us. How silly of me.”

* * *

Finn scooped up as many rocks, shells, possible trash, and the odd crab into his arms as he could before turning away from the ocean floor and swimming to the surface. He breached the water and tried to put everything into Lloyd's arms.

Instead, the other squawked and nearly dropped everything. “What are you-? This isn't what I said!”

“You said get him something nice.”

“ _Buy!_ I meant _buy!_ This is all junk- _AH! Shit!_ ” Lloyd shook out his wrist until the small crab let go of his finger and plopped back into the water.

“He really seems to like the seashell, though,” Finn said, unsure which of them was right about what Poe would like. “Bring this to the dock over there. I'm gonna go get another armful.”

“Didn't you find the last one in shallow water?”

Finn submerged instead of answering, making his way back to the bottom. He _had_ found the last one in shallower waters but he also knew there were better shells out there. Poe only deserved the best, and Finn hoped he'd find nicer things in the deeper water. He was currently hunting in the center of the bay but did consider going out to the ocean. Maybe another time. That was almost a day trip considering the currents if he swam by himself.

He scooped up another load, keeping mind to pick out a stray crab this time, before going back to the surface at an angle to get closer to shore. He emerged again to find Lloyd against the short dock that Finn pointed out, moving the different things into piles based on... whatever system he was working with. Finn added his items, watching Lloyd wordlessly put it all into different sections.

“Okay,” the other finally said when he was done. “You want to give him another shell? He might like seaglass. People are starting to make jewelry out of that these days.”

Finn contemplated the idea, knowing it for the litter it was. At least the seashells were natural. “Not unless we find one that's really cool. Are these really the biggest we got?”

“You grabbed them,” Lloyd said, quirking an eyebrow. “We're not gonna find the big fancy ones here. Maybe further south.” Finn frowned at the looming prospect of traveling. He wanted a nice gift but he didn't want to leave Poe behind to get it. “Or,” Lloyd continued in a deadpan, “you could buy him something.”

“Do you think he thinks I'm being cheap? I just thought he really liked the seashell.”

“I don't know about the cheap thing, but he might start worrying you're broke.”

Finn frowned harder, poking at a large pink and white bivalve. “This one's kinda pretty...”

Lloyd tilted his head. “If he's Mr. Perfect after all, he'd probably like whatever you got him, anyway.”

“I want it to be nice,” Finn grumbled, still poking at the shell to scoot it across the wood. “He took me on a helicopter ride, man. It was amazing.”

“You know,” the other sighed, pausing to grab a hermit crab that was starting the trek back to water and putting it back in the pile with the other still occupied shells, “you could probably get him one _and_ buy something.”

“But what would I even _buy_ for him? I have no idea what he could possibly want.”

“I think that's the _shop_ part of _shopping_.”

The sound of footsteps on the dock made them both quiet, and an older woman in a flowing dress and shawl approached them. “Hello, gentlemen. Sorry, did I interrupt something?”

“I have no idea,” Lloyd answered honestly. He was always like that, not knowing what the concept of a stranger was. He treated everyone like he'd known them for years. “Whenever this one makes up his mind, we'll find out.”

“ _Ha ha_ ,” Finn sarcastically huffed, quickly putting the better shells (occupied and not) into a pile closest to him. “Sorry. We're just picking up.”

“No, please. Not on my behalf,” the woman said firmly, raising her hand. “What are your names, if I may ask?”

“I'm Lloyd. The guy evicting hermit crabs is Finn.”

“I don't do that,” Finn complained. He wasn't about to kill a poor hermit crab for their home. Actually, he was wondering if Poe would like a pet... That was a silly idea, huh? He looked up at the older woman, not wanting her to think anything wrong. “I don't do that.”

She smiled and smoothed down the back of her dress to sit on an upturned bucket someone left behind. “Shell collecting?”

“Sort of,” Finn admitted. “We're trying to find a nice one as a gift. I guess I'll buy something to go with it, too.”

Lloyd choked back a laugh. “That's the spirit.”

“I don't mean it like that,” Finn grumbled. “He's not a very material person. I'm not sure what he'd like. I wanna be a _little_ thoughtful... Maybe I should go shopping, anyway.”

The woman laughed. “If it's a person truly worthy of a gift, I think they'll appreciate the thought more than anything. Especially if there's no occasion. Is there?”

“Just two puppies celebrating the existence of love.”

“ _Lloyd_ ,” Finn whined, splashing him a little.

“It's _true_.”

Instead of getting exasperated and even more embarrassed, Finn tried to steer the conversation around. “I'm sorry, ma'am. We didn't ask your name.”

“Call me Leia,” she smiled at them. When both of them said nothing and stared, she smiled wider. “Yes, that Leia.”

“Welp!” Lloyd practically shouted. “I gotta see a man about a jellyfish. Later!” He dived under and was gone.

“Your friend's nice,” she said, smiling at the space Lloyd had been occupying. “Very witty and sharp.”

A hermit crab boldly marched over and out of Finn's arms, successfully falling off the dock, while the mermaid stared at the older woman in blank horror. “As a tack,” he mumbled, really needing some of that wit right about now. “You're Leia Organa.”

She nodded. “Ben's tired mother, Rose's tireless mentor, and Poe's very amused friend.”

Finn was pretty certain that his blush was covering every bit of him that she could see. He sank lower in the water in an attempt to hide his bare chest. “It- It's nice to meet you. Sorry, I was- I, uh- I didn't expect-”

“Please, I surprised you,” Leia said with another firm wave of her hand. “It's good to finally meet you, too, Finn. I've heard a lot.”

He gave an awkward laugh, pretty sure that didn't bode well. “I've heard a lot about you, too. Poe says great things, and Rose adores you.”

She smiled fondly. “Rose speaks highly of you, too, and Poe could go on about you at length if anyone would let him. Did you enjoy the helicopter?” He only nodded, just then remembering that she owned the airport. “Good. He was nervous you wouldn't.”

“Nervous about a helicopter ride? It was incredible. You could see the whole town.” Actually, she probably knew what that looked like.

Leia just laughed again. “Poe frets about little things. He cares so much. He just wants to please people.”

There were _so many things_ Finn wanted to bring up. Why did Ben have bad blood with Poe? Why was Leia out here talking to him? Did she do this specifically to meet him? Would she have a better idea for a gift? Was she here to tell him to stay away? Was she about to give him her blessing for Poe's hand? Could she even do that? “I don't want him to be nervous about me. Is he really?”

“Only when he cares,” she said a bit cryptically and looked at his haul of shells. “You were right about Poe not being materialistic. He may not look it, but he has money to burn. There's no item that he really needs that he doesn't have. Poe loves the intention, the thought. You thinking of him and wanting to give him something is the real gift. He would truly love anything you chose.”

That was a lovely sentiment, but... “I still want it to be nice. I want him to like it.”

“In that case,” she sighed, rising from her seat, “he would like the white and pink shell.”

Finn picked the same bivalve he had been considering out of the pile and looked back up to Ms. Organa. She seemed to be ready to go, so he had to be a little blunt. “Ma'am, you sought me out, didn't you?”

“I did,” she answered, face unchanging.

“You wanted to talk to me?”

At that, she smiled. “I did,” she said again very cryptically. “It was lovely to meet you, Finn. I won't keep you.”

“Ah, ma'am,” he dropped a few things back into the water, practically hugging the dock before she could leave. “You've known Poe for a long time, right?” She nodded. “Do I-... I mean, do we- Does he-”

“He loves you very much, Finn,” she told him softly. “I'll see you soon.” At that, Leia turned and walked away.

Finn was left in silence and a blush that felt almost like a fever. Poe loved him? _Loved_ him? Loved _him_? He was clutching the shell so hard that it was a wonder the thing didn't snap as he sunk lower into the water.

“So what she say?”

He nearly sailed straight out of the water. “ _Lloyd! Don't do that!_ ”

* * *

“This is what he got me,” Poe announced in a low voice filled with wonder and awe, holding his shell gently with both hands to show Jess and Karé. They had met at the mall, Snap having called the cavalry to get the _perfect_ gift. Or maybe just moral support. Anyway, the girls _coo_ 'd and _aww_ 'd at his shell and giggled at him. Poe frowned. “Is it too soon to get him a car? He lives in the water. Would he even use it?”

“Poe, God,” Jess barked between laughs. “Stop. Please. Geez.”

Karé turned to Snap by her side. “Where's _my_ car?”

“Is your name Finn? No,” the other gruffly said. “He complimented my cooking, I'll have you know.”

Jess' was still trying to come down from her laughing fit. “Be careful, Karé. This kid's snatching them all up.”

“ _Guys_ ,” Poe groaned, tucking his shell safely against his chest. “I'm serious. He got me this a whole date ago, and I still didn't get him anything. I need to go big. I don't want him to think I forgot.”

“But you did forget,” Snap mumbled beneath his breath.

“I did not! I bought him food, but that wasn't enough. Then I bought us some flight time, but that wasn't enough either. I want him to _have_ something.”

Jess waved a hand and started wandering towards a knick-knack shop. “I say get him a Buick or nothing at all.”

Karé rolled her eyes. “You said you were going to give him cooking lessons? I guess that's not what you're looking for, though...”

“Get him a copy of that movie you two haven't watched yet,” Snap helpfully added.

Jess rose her voice to reach them across the hall. “Get him a Porsche.”

None of that was special enough. Finn saw that seashell and thought of _Poe_. And it was _beautiful_. He had to get him something more beautiful. It had to be perfect. Especially if he was going to continue being lackluster at sex... Okay, he supposed he had been worrying about that.

“Houston calling Poe,” Snap said, waving a hand in front of his face. Poe jerked back to awareness, much to the amusement of the girls. “You didn't hear me, did ya, old man? I said get him something he can use. Polish for the scales or something.”

The girls hummed and nodded, but Poe was baffled. “That's a thing?” Finn's scales didn't _need_ polishing. They were amazing.

“It's a hygiene thing, kinda between lotion and perfume,” Snap explained. “It's healthy for the scales, too. We got a cheap herbal kind at the hospital. There are some fancy expensive ones out there.”

“Okay,” Poe sighed, deciding. Though he still felt it wasn't good enough, maybe it would be a buffer to give him more time.

“Hey, Poe.” Jess stopped him from walking off and pointed at the shop. “They got a bunch of cute little figures. Might be something cheap the kid would like.”

“I don't want anything cheap,” he whined but walked over to follow Karé and Snap. “And he's not a kid.”

The other three _oooh_ 'd at that one, so he just sighed and looked through the shop's front window. Jess had been right about the cheap aspect of the little things. Dreamcatchers, dragon statues, and giant glass globes basically covered the front window, all of them marked up to at least twenty percent in value. Some of them, anyway. Others looked quite nice.

“They have glass stuff,” Karé said, pointing. “And ceramic stuff. And scented oil stuff.”

Snap pushed by. “The nicer things are inside. Let's go. We got time.”

Poe sighed and followed, feeling like this _was_ a waste of time. He couldn't let them bully him into buying something that wasn't a good gift but he could humor them for now. Snap nodded at the stuff in the counter display, behind which one guy was working, and Poe approached to take a look.

First, he noticed that everything inside was glass and that the lights were built into the case to make them shine bright. The second thing he noticed was the ridiculous price tag. “My grandpa makes them,” the worker said without prompt or greeting.

“They're really good,” Karé said to start some small talk.

They were really good, now that Poe was actually looking. There was a tiny horse, yet another dragon, a bonsai tree, an angel, a bear, a chicken, a dolphin, people in various poses, and a- a-... Poe crouched down to look closer.

“You got any mermaids?” Snap asked the worker over Poe's head.

“Nah,” the guy replied, “but he does requests if you're willing to wait a few days. Same price depending on size.”

“Custom made,” Jess' voice sounded impressed, her leg nudging Poe's shoulder. “Can't get much more special than-... Are you actually crying right now?”

Poe pointed into the case, and Snap leaned down to join him. “Ah, yeah. That is pretty.”

Pretty. _Pretty_. “It's not good enough, is it?” It was gorgeous. Each petal that was touched with a hint of purple sparkled in the light, looking _exactly_ like Finn's beautiful scales beneath the water. But it wasn't perfect. Nothing could compare. “There isn't anything that's good enough, is it?” he sniffed, lightly tapping his fist against the glass. “I'll never find anything good enough. I'll never find a gift for him.”

Snap stood and pointed down at the case. “We'll take the lotus, please. Thanks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edited this pretty late at night. I hope it's good enough but I may not have time tomorrow to post. So here it is!
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	16. Chapter 16

Finn hadn't talked to Poe since his run-in with Leia the day before. Poe hadn't contacted him either, so there was nothing to feel bad about. But still, he found his thoughts whirring round and round to try rationalizing it all.

_He loves you very much._

It was too soon for that, right? Finn should probably feel a bit creeped out at the notion. But he didn't, like _really_ didn't. It was also nearly impossible, though, right? Would a person like Poe fall for someone so quickly? Why would Leia lie or stretch the truth? Maybe even she didn't know for sure. Maybe she meant it in more platonic means. Poe was _fond_ of him very much. Yes, that's what she meant.

“ _Ow!_ Fucking-”

“Sorry!” Finn scrambled to pick up his end of the net that had fallen on Niner's foot. “Sorry, sorry. I'm not-”

“You're not here,” Nick gasped, bent at the waist and flexing his foot. “I know.”

Slip picked up Nick's end and they finally tossed it to Lloyd. The other mermaid, standing in the boat with a giant smirk, dragged it over to the others. They weren't large or really heavy but they did have the tendency to hurt if the corner slammed down on someone's foot.

The two mermaids had broken out their amulets to help load up the new crab nets, neither wearing much clothing in favor of the swimming trunks they kept on board. The nets themselves were nothing terribly special, but the older ones were... well, old and slowly tearing apart.

While only afternoon, it was the end of their work. Mornings were the best time to catch and that had passed along with their limit. Kind of sucked but the rules were rules. They'd have to wait until next season to bring in more money.

With the last of the nets put away, Lloyd smugly sat down and started scrolling through his phone. He had agreed to keep the conversation between Leia and Finn private, but apparently, there had been a price. He was bursting to tell his secret, and everyone wanted to know it. What was worse, everyone knew it was about Finn considering how he was acting. Finn had been bumbling around all day, lost completely in thought.

Slip didn't care if he knew or not. He just seemed to enjoy watching Finn squirm. Nick, however- “Okay,” he groaned at the sky, “now that I'm sure my foot won't fall off, _what_ is going on with you?”

Finn glared at Lloyd, who was unhelpfully giggling. “Nothing.”

The other mermaid opened his snarky mouth to say something, but Niner beat him to it. “What did Mr. Perfect do now?” he asked, Lloyd barking a laugh. “Did he give you a pet name? Did he say he likes something that you've liked for years? Did he give you a flower?”

Slip crossed his arms and looked Finn up and down. “I would say he got laid-” Lloyd was crying laughter but Finn was just turning red. “-but he's not all dreamy and shit like last time. Dude probably proposed or something.”

Nick nodded seriously. “All right. Where's the rock? This guy expecting a dowry?”

Finn shoved him as all three of his coworkers erupted into giggles. “You guys are _so_ funny. Why do you even think it's about him?”

“Isn't it always?” Slip asked, hopping into the boat to grab his things.

It was Nick, still a bit serious, who clapped Finn on the shoulder. “For real, everything okay?”

He let out a sigh and nodded. “Yeah.” Then... “Is there really such thing as moving too fast?”

“Depends,” Nick shrugged, “but you're pretty smart about people, so... yolo? Life's short, yeah? Even for vampires?”

Slip, ignoring all this, leaned over the side of the boat. “He _did_ propose! Or you're moving in with him? Did he-?”

“It's nothing like that,” Finn groaned. “Don't worry about it. I'm just crazy.”

“Sure,” Nick agreed far too easily and caught his bag that was tossed to him, setting it by his feet on the dock. “All right, lads. Assuming Finn's love life remains intact and drama free, we'll all meet here in the morning. How's an hour earlier sound so we can make sure those nets won't fuck up.”

“Sounds cool,” Lloyd spoke up for the first time, “but who's that and why's he dressed like a serial killer?”

They all turned to find a guy walking up the dock as if he had just appeared. Jeans, sneakers, pull-over jacket, and baseball cap with the jacket's hood over it, complete with aviator sunglasses. Finn thought for a moment that maybe it was Ben, but this guy was too short. And looked... impossibly familiar. Then the man smiled and took off his glasses and-

Finn _yelled_ , making all of his friends yell, too, and started running over like a shot. “ _Poe!_ ” he shouted before throwing himself into the vampire's arms, both of them laughing deliriously.

He was _here_! In the middle of the day! In the- Finn pulled back with a gasp. “Wait, Poe, it's daylight!”

“What?” Poe laughed. “No, really? I had no idea! Oh God! I'm melting!”

“Don't joke about that,” Finn grumbled, pulling at his boyfriend's – _boyfriend_ , he loved the sound of that – jacket to find his hands covered in gloves.

“I'm sorry,” the other relented but still had a massive smile. “I found something and I couldn't wait to see you. You said you get off work around this time? Is this bad? Should I not-?”

Finn shook his head. “Now's a great time. It's always a great time.” He paused to kiss his _boyfriend_ , mostly getting a taste of sunscreen. That was adorable. This whole thing was _adorable_. Poe walked through _sunlight_ to come see him. Well, no, surely he had other business. Surely Finn wasn't so special as to warrant this much commitment. But still, the fact that Poe went out of his way to see him like this anyway. It made his heart lift.

* * *

There were three other men on the dock, who Poe guessed were Nick, Slip, and Lloyd. They had wide, unblinking eyes and unreadable expressions other than pure shock. Poe didn't know what to think of them, really, but Finn had pulled away from their kiss to give him one of those massive, beautiful, blinding, distracting smiles.

This had all been a surprise trip, but Poe felt like he didn't want to keep Finn now that he was here. He was clearly intruding and it was creepy to show up like this, right? He didn't want to be creepy. But he was doing it already, damage done, even if Finn looked like he was enjoying this. Still...

Poe dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out the small glass lotus he'd spent the whole night crying about. It was small enough to fit in the palm of his hand, the tips touched with a lovely purple color a shade lighter than Finn's scales. Just as he thought, the sunlight glittered off of the lotus in a shimmering rainbow.

He had half a mind to shove it in Finn's hands and run. It _was_ pretty, but it wasn't pretty _enough_. It just wasn't good enough, plain and simple. A little trinket someone would mistake for a bauble or ornate light fixture. It had no purpose other than to sit there and shine, useless. What if Finn assumed Poe thought that was all he was worth? What if Finn didn't like it? What if he _hated_ it?

Okay, now he just wanted to throw it in the sea and _then_ run. But that would be weird, right? Weirder than showing up to his maybe-boyfriend's place of work unannounced? Probably.

Instead of all those lovely scenarios, Poe held the lotus out to Finn and found himself unable to say anything. He _did_ have a speech. It was gone now.

But then Finn looked down at it and _gasped_. Like a real _gasp_. “It's so pretty.”

“It's just glass,” Poe heard himself say and found that the floodgates were now open for business. “I- I just found it at this little shop. It was from some, uh- some man. It's- It's not even really expens- Oh, I, uh- I-” He found the scale polish in his pocket and threw both of the objects into Finn's hands. “I-I'm not- I'm not saying you need it. You don't need it. You're beau- I _mean_ \- I heard that it's a good gift and I saw it and got it and I got that, too, and I thought you might like it and I get it if you don't because that's okay and I can just throw them- Here, I'll just- You don't- I'll fix-”

“ _Poe_.” Finn's voice was just as firm as his grip on the lotus, but his smile was sweet, eyes soft, staring at Poe like he was something so much more worthy of being seen like that. “Poe, I _love_ it.”

He meant it. He really honestly meant it.

Poe was struck totally speechless, relief and gratitude and- and- Wow, he was about to cry, okay. He blinked a few times but was stopped from worrying about it when Finn put his arms around his shoulders, pulled him close, and kissed him deeper than they usually do in private.

By the time they pulled apart, Poe had forgotten how to breathe or open his eyes but slowly managed to do both. He was also happy to find that he hadn't started crying yet, but the way Finn was _looking_ at him, like _he_ was precious, might make him start.

Then Finn seemed to shake himself. “Oh, uh, right! I, uh- I should introduce you to my... friends...” Finn turned to face the forgotten three, voice tapering off because they were still being stared at. Now the other men looked less shocked and more amused. Finn cleared his throat and pointed them out. “That's Nick, Lloyd, and Slip. Guys, this is Poe.”

The dark, serious one standing on the dock and failing to hide a smile nodded at him. “Mr. Perfect has a name, huh?”

“And so do we,” Slip said as he stepped out of the boat and extended his hand to a blushing Poe. “Nice to finally meet you.”

“Likewise,” Poe responded, kicking himself and shaking the man's hand.

“So,” the first one, Nick, interrupted, “what are exactly are your intentions with our-”

Slip grabbed him, two bags, and started walking down the dock. “Not going there. We'll see you tomorrow!”

The last one, Lloyd, had an amulet around his neck almost the same as Finn's. He smirked at them. “Nice to meet you, Poe. Finn, don't do anything I wouldn't do.” Then he winked and jumped in the water, not resurfacing.

Poe gave it a long pause, blushing furiously either from the light or what just happened or both. “So, I really didn't mean to interrupt-”

“You didn't,” Finn sighed with a happy smile. “They're just nerds that like to tease me. And they seem to think we need alone time for some ridiculous reason.”

“Don't know what could give them that idea,” Poe joked but still felt bad that they all ran off like that.

Finn, thankfully, didn't really seem to care and just tugged on the brim of Poe's hat. “I have a really crazy question,” he prefaced. “You wanna come back to my place?”

… Poe blinked. “Your place that's underwater? That place?”

“Yeah,” the other laughed and averted his eyes. “Crazy, I know.”

“Maybe but yes.” The vampire grabbed at his love's hips, apparently surprising him by agreeing. “The sun can't touch me underwater, and you know how well I can hold my breath.” And he really would leap at any opportunity to see Finn's beautiful tail again. Was that a bad ulterior motive?

“You really want to?”

“Hell yes.”

Smiling brightly again, Finn danced away to hop into the boat. “Let me grab my stuff, and we'll find a shady spot.” His _stuff_ seemed to just consist of a mesh vest and his phone since that was all he grabbed before scrambling back on the dock, grabbing Poe's hand, and taking off.

The sun was _atrocious_ on his eyes, so Poe reluctantly replaced the sunglasses, saddened that they dulled the shine of Finn's scales on his ribs and back. Then again, he was grateful to see them at all, so he followed happily as they went by the pier and towards the same overhang where they spent a large amount of their second date.

Wait, did this count as a date? Was this their fourth date? He didn't plan for this. He had much bigger ideas. This was totally a date now, wasn't it? Was he pissed or overjoyed at the fact? Finn giggled as a startled seagull took wing from the rocks, so Poe decided he was definitely overjoyed.

Finally under the blissful shade, Poe instantly felt that a weight came off of him. He didn't mind walking out in the sun, but it always made him feel off.

Finn walked over to a chest against the rock wall, opening it up to show a few bags of what looked like clothes inside. “You can put stuff in here if you don't want anything getting wet,” he said, and oh, that procurred many visions of Finn naked on the beach and soaking wet in the middle of the day.

After stalling for a moment, Poe quickly started tugging off his jacket, momentarily forgetting about the hat and glasses. He threw them in, then the jacket, then jumped when a pair of swim trunks flew in... Poe turned around as fast as he could, forgetting about modesty completely, but Finn was already in the water with quite the cheeky grin on his face, vest on and amulet missing. Instead of waiting for a smart retort, Poe doubled his efforts on his shoes as Finn laughed at him.

Finally, shoes, shirt, pants, wallet, and phone were all in the chest, leaving Poe in just his boxers and what bare shreds remained of his self-esteem. Again, he knew he was good-looking, but Finn's opinion of his body mattered a whole lot more than the general consensus.

Fortunately, the mermaid was looking him over, _maybe_ construed as predatory if Poe was a little vainer, and grinning. “You getting in?”

Poe nearly tripped on his own feet to splash into the water, Finn laughing at him again. He didn't care. He wanted to Finn to laugh all the time. “So, where's your place?”

The mermaid held out the hand not clutching the lotus, and Poe took it.

* * *

The water was pretty clear in the bay, so Finn had worried about the sun peaking through. Apparently, Poe hadn't been boasting. As soon as they got underwater, he seemed completely content to just hold on to Finn's hand and follow.

Finn didn't dive down as deep as he normally did, wanting to stay high enough in case Poe actually did need air. Maybe the vampire thing didn't mean he did? He had no idea. Actually, now that he thought about it, he didn't know a whole lot about vampires beyond the basics. It was high time to get educated.

Pushing that to the back of his mind for now, Finn swam home with Poe by his side in an oddly thrilling adventure. And Poe, a surprisingly strong swimmer, didn't need to be dragged along. In fact, he could keep up with Finn easily at this pace. They should swim more often, he decided. Maybe they could this evening, depending on how long Poe decided to stay.

Finn's home wasn't... like any home for those on the surface. He had altered the usual mermaid living style to coincide with walking on land, kind of giving it a half and half feel. So it wouldn't be totally unbearable for Poe but it wasn't exactly for modern tastes. Finn found that he wasn't entirely self-conscious about it, though. Poe was understanding, far from cruel, and seemed to have quite the open mind for others' living habits.

He swam down and came to the mouth of the cave which was quite narrow. Finn pointed at it, and Poe nodded. With one quick kiss, Finn let go of their joined hands and went in first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of a different format this time. We'll see Finn's place next!
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	17. Chapter 17

Poe didn't swim too much and hadn't done a lot in the way of diving since he'd been turned. Or before then, really. He _did_ know via an unfortunate misunderstanding that he could hold his breath for probably an infinite amount of time. He forgot how badly his lungs burned, though. Surviving without air still wasn't entirely comfortable.

When he pushed through the opening to Finn's home, it was suddenly worth the strain. They had entered a submerged cave with light streaming in from above. Finn was already near the surface, swimming between the beams of light, and it was the best view Poe had of him yet like this. His long, surprisingly strong tail sparkled against the light, Finn's dark, matte skin a sharp contrast to his bright, shimmering scales.

Poe was halfway to the surface before realizing he had followed at all, mesmerized as he was, but jolted out of the daydream to make sure he didn't emerge from the surface into sunlight. It was a bit of a shame in this case, more so than it had been in recent decades, but he was glad that he could see Finn in the light even if he couldn't touch. Not in that kind of light anyway.

He breached the water in a shadowed area and took in a deep, gasping breath. “Oh, man. That was different.”

“You okay?” Suddenly, a very concerned Finn was beside him. “I'm too used to the route. I didn't think it was that far.”

“I'm fine,” Poe laughed back, almost delirious. “I'm fine, buddy. Everything's okay. I just never really went swimming till I met-” Then he noticed the cavern they were in. “Oh. Wow.”

Aside from a crack in the earth above their heads to let in the sun and a few vines, the cave was entirely enclosed. The pool they were floating in lapped against stone and sand of the cavern floor that took up most of the area. There was a large tent far in the back as well as chairs, sleeping rolls, towels hanging from a wire, and a few other things that Poe kind of swept his eyes over before seeing the vast amount of fairy lights over their heads. While the sun streamed in towards the pool, the lights nearly covered the rest of the ceiling, making the whole place bright and dreamy.

“How-?”

“Solar panels,” the mermaid chuckled. Poe glanced over to find Finn looking happy and a bit smug. “Rose helped me set it up. She also did something to keep bats out. I don't know what, but it works.”

“This is amazing.” He hadn't really seen anything like it except maybe in movies. But an actual, _functional_ home like this? It was a perfect place for a mermaid. “You even have a hammock!”

Finn laughed, still beside him in the center of the pool as they treaded water together. “It's not that incredible. Most mermaids live entirely underwater, but I like walking around on the surface. Kinda makes some things a little awkward when I lose my amulet again, though.” But he shrugged. “But I do like the hammock. C'mon. I wanted to show you something.”

With that, Finn submerged again. The water in the cave was so clear and bright, Poe was able to watch the mermaid swim smoothly to the shore as if the few feet took no effort at all. Heaven above, Finn was beautiful, and Poe felt just as inadequate as anyone could possibly feel at that moment. But the other wanted to show him something, and Poe couldn't deny him that or anything else. He swam to shore much less gracefully and pulled himself on to dry land.

He watched Finn pull himself out of the water, too, only to sit on the rocks and rummage in another chest. While Finn was distracted, Poe took a better look around the place. It felt secluded and perfect, even if the sounds of the ocean could easily be heard through the open top. He padded forward a couple of steps on the soft sand, not wanting to get anything wet. He imagined everything got wet kind of regularly, though.

Then Finn was laughing, and Poe had to turn around to see why, but he was the joke again apparently. Poe just smiled back. “What?”

“You can grab a towel, you know,” Finn said with a lovely grin, the chest closed and his arms holding something at an angle Poe couldn't see. “I _do_ wash everything.”

“Somehow, I think I'll just go swimming again soon,” Poe answered, finding the bravery to tease back. “What do you have?”

Finn's smile faltered a hair, just enough for Poe to notice that the other man was _somehow nervous_  before he spoke. “I wanted to get you something, too, but I couldn't decide what. It's not as nice, but I-” He cut himself off, closing his mouth tightly, before stretching his arms out to Poe. His palms opened to show a big pink and white shell held out to him.

Poe's heart stopped.

* * *

Finn's arms were starting to get tired, but that was okay because he was pretty certain his heart was about to jump out of his chest. Silence had taken his home, the only sound echoing through being the dripping of water off of their bodies. Poe had stopped all motion, just staring at the seashell. Meanwhile, Finn was trying very hard to not start talking or else he wouldn't be able to stop.

His lotus was perched on a rock and was to be moved to a place where the light could catch it later, and the polish was probably burning a hole in his vest pocket right now. Finn suddenly felt pretty guilty for receiving such nice gifts and all he'd given back were seashells. Lloyd had been right. But he knew that when revealing the new shell. Then again, he hadn't expected Poe's response, which was the absolute lack of a response.

The vampire finally spoke, “You-” Finn perked up at the uttered word, but Poe's voice died before it even began. After another quiet moment, Poe tried again. “You got me this?”

Finn wanted to profusely apologize for his gift but didn't know if that was the right course of action here. He couldn't read Poe at all. Was he nervous? Offended? Shocked? “I did, yeah,” the mermaid finally answered, entirely unsure what to do.

“You-” Poe started again. This time, he finally stepped closer and held out his hands to the shell, not actually grabbing it. This was starting to seem pretty familiar. “You got me- But I- I didn't- I only got the little- I didn't get you anything-”

Wait, he _was_ nervous? “Poe, you _bought_ me two gifts. I found these. If anything, I need to catch up.”

That... seemed to be the wrong thing to say. “ _What!?_ ” When Poe's voice stopped bouncing off of the walls, he kneeled down to Finn's level. “Buddy, sweetheart, no. You _got me_ this. You gave me- You didn't have to. You never had to. You didn't even know that I was- Finn, you're so _sweet_. I don't know how to- I don't even-” He stopped to take a deep breath, eyes shining.

Well, now Finn _really_ didn't know what to do. _Was Poe about to cry?_ “I'm sorry!” Was _that_ the right thing to say? He powered on before the vampire could catch his breath. “I never wanted to make you feel bad, Poe. I just wanted to give you something.”

“Don't be sorry!” Poe yelped again. “ _I'm_ sorry! You keep giving me things and being amazing, and I don't deserve that kind of-”

Finn leaned forward quickly to capture Poe's lips in his. Maybe that was a bit rude, to cut him off in the middle of a sentence that actually seemed fully formed for once, but that was one sentence he didn't want to hear the end of. Poe melted against him, hands wrapping around Finn's wrists, then he finally inched away. “You do. You deserve so much more, Poe.”

When Poe opened his mouth with what seemed like an argument on his tongue, Finn caught his lips again with a deeper kiss.

He pulled away again after a moment, waiting closely in case Poe decided to continue his train of thought. Instead, Poe opened his still sparkling eyes and asked, “Do you have a driver's license?”

Finn blinked and scrunched up his face. “No?”

“Okay, we can get you one. That won't be-”

“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing,” Poe said and leaned forward again for another deep kiss, apparently realizing they were great for quick distractions.

It worked long enough for Finn to push Poe down into the soft sand, pulling away again to look over him. He put the seashell on Poe's chest. “I'm still going to want to get you stuff. Next time, I'll find something better, something you _deserve_.”

“Finn, I-” Poe paused and swallowed, hands going to shell. “I love anything you see fit to give me.”

He wondered if that sentence had been about to lead somewhere else but pushed away that swirling train of thought to kiss Poe again. “When I invited you back to my place, for some reason, round two wasn't even on my mind.”

“Well, how about now?” Poe asked with a grin that was a bit shaky but was far better than the near tears he was at.

Finn just smiled at him and raised an eyebrow. “How long can you stay?”

“I've got all the time in the world.” While his voice might have sounded a little cheeky, Poe's eyes and smile were still soft and warm.

“So do I,” Finn answered and leaned down to kiss the other man just because he could. “I have an idea. Why don't we try that polish you got for me?”

Poe blinked, smile dropping slightly. “We?”

“There are a few places that I'll probably have trouble reaching,” he responded just as coolly, his own smile probably turning a little mischevious. “If you wanted to help, that is.”

Another silent pause passed between them, but Finn was slightly more prepared for this, his grin unwavering and sure this time. Poe, for his part, just stared before finally saying in a low voice, “I'd love to help.”

“Good.” With a kiss to Poe's nose, Finn rolled away and sat up to remove his vest and liberate the small tin of polish from the pocket. Now that he had a minute to look at it, he recognized the brand as being one of the best and most expensive ones. Like stupidly expensive. “Where'd you get this?”

“The mall,” Poe answered easily, sitting up himself and gently placing his seashell to the side. “Snap said it was a good one, that it had all sorts of... I don't know, minerals or something? Becoming a nurse kinda turned him into a health nut. But, uh, if it's not a good one, I can bring it back. It's no problem.”

“No, no-” And the only reason Finn didn't interrupt his worried ramble that time was because he still felt bad for the last time. “Poe, I love it. Thank you.” The vampire still looked a little uneasy, though, so Finn leaned in to kiss him for good measure. “Have you done this before?”

“Is it like lotion or... dare I say, car wax?”

“No.”

“Then no, I've never done this before.”

Finn laughed and kissed him again. “It can be a little meticulous sometimes but it's not hard. We'll try my arm first, okay? So I can show you?”

Poe responded with a hum and another kiss, signifying that this probably wasn't going to go very far before distraction of better things took them. Until then, the tin of polish was taken from Finn's hands as Poe broke away from the kissing to look it over and open the lid.

“Here,” the mermaid said, leaning in to only share a smile that time. The polish, a clear hard wax, was warm enough to coat the pad of his finger by skimming across the service. “Like I said, a little meticulous,” he repeated with caution, sure that Poe would get bored with this. Regardless, he put his arm between them, showing off the scales, and started applying it gently with the grain before rubbing it into some scales individually. “If you use something like that often, it doesn't take long to reapply it, but I don't. That means the cracked scales need more attention. But see? The polish repairs them. They'll be good as new if I don't reopen them over the next couple of days.” And true to his word, the polish filled the cracks he rubbed it into.

He didn't have very many these days. Just the normal rough body from being a typical laborer. He had learned how to use polish years ago when he actually needed it, when he first arrived in town. Now it was just a luxury type of thing, but he probably really could use it after so long of going without.

It was the look on Poe's face that made him pause, though. Gone was the light teasing smile or the nervous grin. He was frowning, staring down at the scales in serious contemplation. “It's important.”

That... wasn't really a question, but Finn answered it anyway. “It's more like a hygiene thing. It _can_ be important. Some people really need it.” Okay, now Finn had gone straight into self-conscious. He'd been proud of his scales ever since he'd finally managed to clean them up, but now Poe was _staring_ and looking for any slight defect. It wasn't the usual way Poe looked at him and it didn't bring the best feeling either.

“What happens to the cracked ones without the polish?” Poe asked, roving his eyes up and down Finn's arm.

That confused him, making him wonder that maybe this wasn't about aesthetic after all. “They could get worse,” he answered, trying to be flippant. “They might hurt. Sometimes they fall off but they'll grow... back...”

His words trailed off as Poe quickly but gently started to apply the polish over the rest of the arm's scales, rubbing down then going back to very gently buff his thumb over the cracked ones, including a few others seemingly at random. Perhaps there were cracks so small that only a vampire could see them? “Am I doing it right?” Poe asked, finally looking to Finn's eyes with concern. “Is this okay?”

Finn actually had to stop and think if this was okay or not. Well, sure, yeah, the act itself was okay, but there was something almost uncomfortable about being seen under Poe's microscope. Beautiful Poe who never seemed to have so much as a blemish and who walked through the night like the darkness belonged to him was actively looking for every little thing wrong with Finn's body. But at the same time, he wasn't judging or trying to really change anything. He didn't seem to care beyond knowing that Finn was actually okay and healthy and in no pain. If his eyesight was even better than a mermaid's, maybe he'd already seen these before and didn't care? Poe was looking at him now just as he always did, so...

He didn't really know what to do except that he wasn't ready for this to stop yet. “It's okay,” he finally answered, “and you're doing it right. You can rub a little harder if you want.” Finn only realized how that sounded once it left his mouth.

But Poe also seemed oblivious to the accidental innuendo. “I don't want to hurt you,” he answered, going back to his task.

“You won't.”

Poe kissed his shoulder but didn't comment or make his touch any less gentle. “Lie down?”

After a beat of silence, Finn did as requested and tried to relax as he watched Poe do the work. He had intended for this to be a sexy adventure and, well, it was, but a totally different level. It was more intimate than lust-driven, if that made any sense outside of Finn's mind. It didn't have to lead to sex but it also felt like some act that was a bit early for their relationship. He wasn't uncomfortable anymore, at least, thanks to Poe's kisses along his fingers and inside his elbow, almost done absently since his lips were already there.

No- No, that's what made him feel weird about it. This wasn't just intimate. This was _loving_. It wasn't about his _body_ ; it was about Poe taking care of him.

He reflected on Leia's words once again and watched Poe move quietly from his arm to his chest, then his chest to his neck, then his neck to the other arm- Each scale was attended to, each movement was gentle and kind. By the time Poe was getting to his waist, Finn was surprised to find that he could easily fall asleep.

“Still okay?” Poe asked quietly, kissing the flash of skin on his hip. Finn just hummed an affirmative and watched the other continue, the vampire not even looking the slightest bit shy about where his hands were going.

But Poe worked with the same loving care that he'd used on every other inch of Finn's body before moving along to the tail, lavishing attention on every scale as he made his way down to the fin. “Roll over?” he whispered, and Finn easily obeyed as Poe started on his back and made his slow way down again.

Before long, Finn was lightly dozing as Poe buffed what had to be the last scale on his body. Then, with no warning, the vampire jolted. “I _totally_ forgot we were supposed to be having sex! I can't-! I'm so-!”

Finn was laughing too hard to hear what else he had to say. It wasn't like he was actually mad in the least. He rolled to get on his side and clapped his hands up at Poe. “Kiss me and bring me to my hammock, you sexy fool.”

Poe sputtered a laugh through his blushing apologies before leaning forward into a kiss. In one smooth motion, the vampire tucked his arms beneath Finn's shoulders and tail then lifted him off the ground like he hardly weighed a thing. “I need to get better at following orders, don't I?”

“No,” Finn said with a kiss to his cheek, feeling almost bubbly as Poe carried him. “You're perfect.”

The laugh he got in answer was almost sarcastic but there was no other response beyond being put gently into the hammock. Poe climbed in with him just as easily, only earning a sway and laugh.

“See?” the mermaid said, kissing Poe's now dry chest and snuggling closer. “Perfect.”

“You are giving me way too much credit, buddy,” the vampire quietly laughed, trailing his hand lightly along Finn's arm and polished scales.

He didn't dignify that with an answer other than making himself comfortable on top of his boyfriend. “Can you stay?”

“I can stay.”

Finn let out a content sigh and listened to the vampire's slow heartbeat. He could love him, even this early on. Or, maybe- No. He already loved him. He loved Poe. Then, with a smile, he fell asleep.

* * *

When Poe woke, it was night. The outside should have been chilly this close to the ocean, but the cave was warm and lit in a soft glow. Then there was the warm mermaid in his arms, still sleeping so pristinely on his chest like he intentionally curled up there.

He remembered working his way down, over, and around Finn's body and not even letting himself enjoy it. All he had cared about was making every single minuscule crack go away before they became something worse. He'd had no _idea_ those little cracks could be bad. Showed how much he knew, how much he _cared_ , that he hadn't even looked it up, that he had to be _told_.

But, no, he did care – way too much – and he wouldn't be caught like that again. He'd look up everything he could about mermaids as soon as he was able, considering his phone had got left behind.

For now, though- For now he was focused on staying as still as possible while dread flooded him again, his arms and chest feeling akin to lead. He cared _a lot_. Maybe even... loved him? Or- No... Maybe... Yes...

A tiny bug flitted into the cave and landed on one of the lights far above, managing to catch his attention enough to look out at the stars. It was enough to make him pause in thought, to remember to appreciate the moment rather than be crippled by fear of the future. It was overwhelming, though, and a lot to take in. He hadn't felt this way for someone in so long. Yet, Leia said this would be okay, that this thing with Finn would be all right. But it wasn't a little fling anymore. It just kept going and it could potentially become serious, and Poe was certain that he didn't want it to stop or slow down. Yet, it... was still okay?

His thoughts happily derailed as Finn snuffled awake against him, all of the anxiety and worry fleeing like wisps of smoke. “Sorry,” the mermaid began drowsily. “I made it kinda hard for you to get up, huh? How long were you awake?”

“Not long,” Poe answered, pressing a kiss to the top of Finn's head, “and the last thing I wanted to do was leave this spot.”

“Good,” Finn hummed, the picture of content, making Poe's old heart melt. But then Finn tilted around to look at him a little sleepily but serious. “Can I ask you something personal?”

“Of course,” he answered and meant it completely.

Instead of asking, Finn paused and looked to the floor, his lips slightly parted in thought even though it was a completely distracting look on him. “Would you-” he began, then trailed off in silence before looking at him and coming back to the question in a different way. “Have you ever bitten someone because they wanted you to?”

And Poe knew exactly what he was asking for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No sex this chapter but it is longer than usual so yay :)
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	18. Chapter 18

Shock was written all over Poe's beautiful face, and Finn knew he just stumbled his way down a slippery slope. He wanted to apologize but he also didn't want to get ahead of himself since Poe seemed to _always_ be nervous. Plus, he wanted an answer.

Finn had done a little bit of googling about vampires in general but found nothing that wasn't common knowledge or facts he already knew. The wiki page _did_ remind him, however, that some vampires fed on anyone that was willing. It was an interesting but ultimately fleeting thought.

But then he woke up in Poe's arms, chest full to bursting with love, and realised he didn't know some of the biggest mysteries about the vampire. Poe never did show him his world, not really. While Finn has absolutely no complaints about the helicopter ride, he craved to know more.

There was a fear very deep down, rooted in place, that Poe would never let him see, never let him get close. He didn't want things to be that way between them but he also understood on some level. It was what Rose and Rey had said about the age differences, the gap of experiences, and that Finn may get to enjoy several years worth of a relationship that would be nothing more than a fling to Poe.

But he did know Poe Dameron. He knew that he cared _so much_. So... maybe.

At any rate, Finn hoped it didn't hurt to ask.

“Yes,” Poe finally answered surprisingly clearly before casting his eyes about. He fed from someone who wanted him to. “But, uh- It's been awhile.” Finn had an apology about bringing up what was apparently a hurtful subject, but their eyes met again and Poe just started babbling. “I- I mean, it's been a really long- At least a few years. No, wait- More like- Geez, what year are we-? Oh, so- Crap, it's been like thirty years or something. Okay, um, it's been awhile. I kinda jumped on the synthetic blood train as soon as it came around and no one's really offered since so I just don't really- I mean, I don't _ask_. That's rude. And awkward. Like, can you imagine how awkward? But, um, anyway, yeah a long time ago. And I'll just stop now because you were clearly going somewhere with that, and I have no idea what to even- I- I mean- You- I'll just stop.” And stop he finally did.

Finn blinked, waiting quietly to make sure there was nothing else, before propping himself up against the hammock and his boyfriend's chest. He was curious about an inconsistency in that little speech but didn't want to get off topic. At the same time, he didn't want to keep stomping around in an area that sure _looked_ like a sensitive subject. “I don't want you to answer questions that make you uncomfortable. I'm sorry.”

“No!” Poe nearly sat up and fell back down when the hammock threatened to tip. “No, no. I'm fine.” He was definitely not fine. “If you have a question I don't want to answer, I won't answer it, I promise. This is fine. I'm just... not used- I didn't expect that. I'm fine.”

Finn tapped a finger against Poe's bare shoulder in thought. Well... okay. “Have you wanted to? I mean, have you wanted to bite someone more recently?”

“That's, uh-” The vampire cleared his throat, a noticeable blush rising to his cheeks. “It's an instinctual thing, you know? Like eating, breathing, fuc- I can't believe I just- Okay, never mind, go back. Yes? But also, I can control it, you know. I don't need it. Any vampire that wasn't turned six hours ago and claims to _need_ it over the synthetic stuff is lying, buddy. Well, most of them. There are allergies out there. I'm getting off topic.”

Finn leaned forward and kissed him quiet. “Have you bitten a mermaid before?”

Poe's eyes fluttered closed as he bit off a groan. “No.”

That certainly _sounded_ like a good groan. The mermaid smirked. “Do you want to?”

With a deep breath and firm grip against his body, his boyfriend wheezed, “Okay, I'm gonna stop you right there.”

* * *

He needed a second. He needed to _breathe_. Why was it so stuffy in here? Was it always stuffy in here?

It had taken Poe nearly one hundred years to come to terms with the fact that he did _not_ have to treat every urge and instinct as if it would damn him. The rhetoric from humans plus the superiority from his peers hadn't helped with that, so he segued away and made his own path. He realized that he could put his higher brain functions and his base instincts together to make whatever Poe is, and that was okay. There was no one or the other.

As such, he had no delusions of grandeur but also no overabundance of existential crises. Best of both worlds, really.

But _this_. He couldn't even- There were- _Fuck_. He didn't know what to think or what to say or where his mind was even at, but- He opened his eyes. “No.”

Finn looked surprised and a little disappointed, and Poe realized that he answered the wrong question. “I mean, yes, of course. _Yes_ , I want to. _God_ , yes, I- Okay.” He took another deep breath. “I don't- I mean, I _do_ \- I have no idea- Okay. I do _not_ want to hurt you.”

The mermaid blinked at him before his eyes softened into that very warm look he had sometimes, the one that made Poe feel very large and very small all at once. “Sweetheart, you're not going to hurt me.”

But he _could_. “It's not like the movies or reading about it. I mean, obviously, you knew that, but I'm-” Dameron, just stop and _breathe_. He took another moment, closing his eyes and calming down, before opening them and trying again. “It's more than that. It's... _intimate_. It's about as close as you can get. I would _literally_ be drinking your blood straight from the tap. It's a little- It's gross.”

“Sex is gross.”

“Well, yeah-” He didn't know how to say this. And Finn was being so _patient_ with him, which just made it that much worse somehow. “There's a lot of trust involved. Like a ridiculous amount of trust. If I did anything wrong, if something happened-” Nope. No. Not that rabbit hole. “A lot of people don't realize how intense it is until they're in the middle of it, and I don't want that to happen to you. I don't want you to, like, freak out or something.”

That one seemed to give Finn some pause, and he put his head back on Poe's chest, blinking in the space between them, lost in blissful thought again. “You said you've done that with people before. Did they freak out?”

Poe almost said _yes, of course, absolutely, everyone does_ but found himself caught instead. “Well, there was one guy.” But that was one out of very many... “I don't know if he counts, though. That's a long story. But, uh- I mean, it could happen.” Dammit. “Okay, look, a lot of them didn't freak out because I pressured them to get educated about the whole thing before we dove over the edge, so-... I'm not saying you didn't!”

“I know what I want,” Finn said, making Poe's air cut off. But then the mermaid kissed him sweetly again. “How about this?” and Poe knew it was all over. “We give it a few days, maybe a week. I look into it more, you think about it more, and we'll come back to this conversation. How does that sound? I'll ask questions if I have them, you put on the brakes if you think we need to, and we'll go from there. Okay?”

This kid was going to be the end of him. “Okay,” he replied breathlessly and earned himself another kiss. He was going to be a mess of nerves for the next several days. Great. “I just want you to enjoy it... if you can. I don't-... I'll feel like I'm taking advantage.”

“Not over something I asked you for,” Finn quietly answered. “If we try it and I don't like it, we'll go from there, too.” Poe kissed him, grateful, then happy when he pulled away to see a smile on the other's face. “Now tell me about this guy who didn't like it.”

Poe huffed a laugh. “We weren't an item or anything,” he began, lapsing a bit into a story. “His sister had turned, and he wanted to provide for her somehow. It was a long time ago, before the synth stuff. A lot of us fed on animals, but it-... Anyway, I was in the coven that adopted her in. She was still young and a little wild, and he didn't want his first time to be... traumatizing, basically. I was old, even back then, and agreed to give him a crash course. He panicked halfway, but it was all right. The problem was that he was never really on board with it. He just wanted to help her.”

Finn hummed, propping his chin on Poe's chest, tail hanging over the edge of the hammock and dipping gently into the water, beautiful. “What happened to them?”

“That's a whole other story,” Poe answered, not wanting to delve into the darker sections. Not with Finn. He didn't want Finn anywhere near those parts of his life. “Another time. Maybe.”

After a still moment of quiet, Finn spoke up again. “I have another question. You said that you started drinking the synthetic stuff like thirty years ago.”

“Yeah, around about.”

“They didn't have it thirty years ago.”

Poe smirked. “I still haven't heard a question.” When Finn gave him a teasing glare, he elaborated. “Just because the public didn't know about us doesn't mean the government didn't.”

“They knew about vampires thirty years ago?”

He laughed. “They knew about us during The Great War.”

“Wait, did you-”

Poe pushed forward to capture Finn's lips in a deep and hopefully distracting kiss. “That one's for another time, too,” he said with a smile after pulling away, then looked down Finn's body on top of him. “Besides, I faintly remember talk about other activities.”

It was Finn's turn to smirk at him, blissfully and happily distracted. “Do you, now?”

Okay, he knew this was one of many moments to come, but there was still something a little distressing about requesting something _he_ wanted. At the same time, what he wanted was to steer Finn away from darker things while making up for telling him _no_ about literally anything. “I want to blow you.” And now the words were floating out there, partly because he didn't get the chance the other night, mostly because he was really _really_ bad at distractions and judging extremes. “I gotta admit, I have no idea how to with the-” He waved his hand at their mingled lower extremities. “-but I'm really excited to find out.”

Finn raised one eyebrow to his hairline, looking down at them, too. “That might be a little too kinky for us just yet,” he said, successfully confusing the hell out of Poe. A fishtail was kinky but blood was fine? Well... yeah, no, okay, but he could- Finn leaned up on his arms, swaying the hammock. “I have a better idea,” he mumbled, before twisting around in a beautiful arc and diving back into the pool.

Poe seized in panic. “Wait, don't leave! We don't have-!” After tumbling gracelessly out of the hammock, foot caught in the damn ropes, Poe made a valiant crawl closer to the water's edge.

But Finn reappeared against the rocks off to the side where he had his polish done, fiddling with the vest a little bit. When he took out the amulet, he finally noticed Poe on the ground and gave a big smile. “What are you doing?”

Um. “It's been awhile, so I wanted to be sure my knees could still hold up. You know, old bones and all that. And I wanted to test the rocks here. They're nice. You have nice rocks. I-...” His voice came to a screeching halt when Finn pulled himself from the water and presented himself with a smug grin, standing there on his own two legs completely naked. “ _Oh_.”

“What were you saying about my rocks?”

Oh, confidence looked _good_ on Finn, but Poe flushed all the same. “They're very nice.”

Finn laughed at him, the best sound in the world. “How do you want to do this?”

Shouldn't he be asking that? But since the other seemed to not have much of a preference, Poe just held out his arms in invitation that Finn happily took with a big smile. When close enough, he bent down to give a wonderful kiss, and Poe was probably going to _die_ in this cave from being so overwhelmed with this man, but he could at least make it until after Finn came.

When he pulled away, Poe just hummed and tried to center himself. “Let me do this for you? Please?”

“Absolutely,” Finn answered, straightening up and putting his hands in Poe's hair as if it was instinct.

There was probably a whole speech on his tongue at the moment, but Poe kept that back or else he'd never get to it. But there was something more intense about this like more was riding on it being _good_. One blowjob wasn't enough, honestly, but he could work up to better things. He just hoped that Finn let him work up to better things, and it wouldn't happen if he was no good at this, so he had to _focus_.

Okay. Okay. He can do this.

He kissed along Finn's thigh and nuzzled his hip before reminding himself to _focus on the task, Dameron_ and started kissing along his dick. It was too easy to get lost here, and he really wanted to take his time and make him feel so _so_ good, go over every inch of him, but that would probably take forever and lead to sidetracking of some sort. Later. Maybe.

But he couldn't _not_ take a very short detour to gently suck on one of Finn's balls, relishing in the hiss of pleasure and tug on his hair for a few seconds. But, okay, yes, the task, right, he can do this. He could give great head in his sleep. Probably has! This was nothing.

Except it _wasn't_ noth-

Okay, no.

To put himself back in the moment, Poe wrapped his lips around the head and sucked hard, using a hand to pump him through it. And he honestly had a moment where he was certain Finn was going to fall over, but the loud moan was met with a shift that better braced his feet, so they were okay. Maybe that was too much too fast. Maybe he should have slowed down. Dammit! He couldn't go back now.

Wait, no, he had an idea.

Poe let go of Finn's dick to get an honestly distracting handful of ass – _later, Dameron_ – and moved further down, repeatedly swallowing hard and flitting his tongue on the underside. There was a long litany of sound coming from Finn, most of it Poe's own name, but he couldn't get lost in that. He had a _job_ to do. It had been a long time, but Poe was still pretty tolerant of his gag reflex, so it only took two tries to get Finn down his throat.

This was a good idea, right? Judging by the hips stuttering, voice rising, and grip skating the line of pain and pleasure, he was pretty sure this was a good idea. Poe moaned and swallowed again before Finn jerked and came down his throat with a howl.

That was probably way too fast, wasn't it? Just like the other night! But, no, Poe pushed that away to dwell on later so that he could focus on Finn now. He pulled back and off, being sure to suck and lick everything clean as he went despite the other's body trembling beneath his hands.

When he finally did let go, Finn dropped to his knees and kissed him deeply, hands trailing down to- _oh_. “Let me,” he said, _begged_ almost, hands ghosting over the waistband of the increasingly uncomfortable swim trunks. “Wanna make you feel good,” he kept saying, getting his lips acquainted with Poe's neck and shoulder which was a damn weakness of his...

A part of him wanted to tell Finn that he didn't have to, but Finn _knew_ that. He _wanted_ to. Poe would never get used to it, but he nodded and let himself be pushed back against the rocks anyway.

The trunks went flying pretty quickly, and Poe was in no state of mind to keep track of where they headed or let himself be even a minuscule self-conscious right now. One nanosecond, his cock was bare and being presented to the world; the next nanosecond, he was halfway down Finn's throat.

Poe hands flew to Finn's shoulders, trying to make himself not push or pull or buck or- Was someone yelling? Was that him yelling? That was him yelling. “ _Oh, Finn, baby, ye-!_ ” Finn pulled back enough to suck on his head, tongue teasing the slit, hand pumping him in a blur- Poe felt it building and was stuck so long on indecision to hold it back or not before he came.

It took a minute for him to return to himself, first feeling Finn kissing along his hip, and then just feeling a little mediocre. “I have got to work on my endurance.”

Finn laughed at him, _a truly beautiful sound that made Poe's heart squeeze_ , and climbed further up to kiss his shoulder. “I think your endurance is perfect,” he breathed against his chest. “We can work on both of ours later.”

The promise made Poe tug on Finn's chin until he could take him in another deep kiss. The taste was something but it wasn't that bad. _Definitely_ was not that bad considering the meaning there.

They stayed there for a moment, using each other for warmth and a truly ridiculous amount of kisses. Finally, reluctantly, Poe brought up a really depressing topic. “I should probably go home before the sun comes back up.”

Finn kissed him again. “And I should probably run some errands before midnight gets here.”

… AH! “I didn't mean to keep you! I should have-”

“Poe, no,” he laughed. “No. Never. Believe me when I say this was far more preferable.” Before Poe could go on another self-conscious nose dive, Finn kissed him into bliss again.

* * *

Despite Finn's claims of having something to get done, he still found spending time with Poe to be a better use of his time. Especially after getting back to the beach and watching the vampire dry off and put his clothes back on, significantly less shy now. When Finn did the same, he was pleased to find the vampire looking, too.

Poe had offered to go with him for his errands, but Finn was silently indecisive about just abandoning the whole idea, so they walked down the street, hand in hand, all the way to Poe's apartment. He was honestly hoping Ben would drive by in his police cruiser and have a conniption at the sight they made, but that didn't seem to be in the cards tonight.

“You could come in for awhile,” Poe suggested, unlocking his door when they arrived. “Stay a week.”

“That sounds amazing,” Finn chuckled, “but we should probably give your roommate a three-day notice.”

Poe laughed as he opened the door, and they were both able to catch sight of Snap in the kitchen. They paused.

Snap was a little pale, shaky, and stood leaning against the wall, pinching the bridge of his nose. He made no sign that he heard the door open. Something was wrong.

“Snap?” Poe asked first, slowly walking inside.

With a little delay, he jerked at the sound of his name and looked up at them in surprise. “Oh, hey. Hey. I just-”

Finn stepped in, too, concerned. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing,” Snap answered with a shake of his head but looked confused at the same time. “Or- Nothing's _wrong_. But something happened. I can't remember.”

“Are you hurt?” Poe asked, stepping closer.

Snap just shook his head. “No, nothing like that. It was- There was someone. Someone-... Shit. I can't-” He closed his eyes for a beat. “They asked something.” Then he opened his eyes and looked over at Poe. “They asked about you. I think. But I can't-...”

Finn closed the door and walked in, intending to ask where this happened while sitting Snap down and finding the car keys for a quick hospital trip. He didn't get much further than opening his mouth, before Poe spoke. “You're okay,” he said, but his voice was tight and his face was _furious_.

Without wasting another second, he turned on his heel and started marching down the hall. Snap, shocked, went after him. Finn hadn't seen Poe like that before and didn't know _what_ to do but decided to follow and figure out what that was about.

Poe stopped in front of his bedroom door and pushed it open hard enough to hit the wall with a loud, short _bang_. “What do you want?” he growled into the room.

While Snap seemed frozen, Finn stepped forward just enough to see a tall, smirking, thin woman with bright pink hair, a long dress, and Poe's seashell in her hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that's a twist! lol But no, really, I'm so happy and excited about the response to last chapter! Thank you all so much. :)
> 
> I HAVE A SURVEY:   
> •1- I want to go deeper into Poe's past but that might take up a whole chapter of Poe just talking with nothing really getting done except a long conversation. Would you guys be interested in that or would you rather I skip it more or less and just continue on with the story? Or do you have another idea? I have almost all of Poe's life planned out but I doubt I'll cover every piece either way.   
> •2- This story is going to be very long. Do you guys want me to just add on to this fic into infinity or make a series? I'm cool with either but I wondered how many readers would hang/not read at all, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask what you all thought since you're the wonderful demographic I'm pandering to.
> 
> Anyway, regardless, thank you for reading. ♥


	19. Chapter 19

Poe was rarely a truly angry man. His emotions usually skirted the routes between frustration and depression if conflict presented itself. He'd learned long ago that anger got you nowhere, that anger got you killed, and real fury hadn't weighed on his heart since 1946. In fact, at least a good quarter of his anger over the years had been directly because of Holdo. And now, seeing her again-

He knew exactly why she wanted to speak to him, but coming _here_ , bringing his _people_ into it- He focused on staying calm and clear-headed, knowing full well how badly this could go.

For her part, Holdo didn't seem to hear his question or acknowledge anyone else, the latter of which he was grateful for. No, she just flashed him that sweet smile and looked back to _his_ seashell in _her_ hands. “It's cute,” she began in a condescending voice she knew jumped on every one of his nerves, “but you've never really been the sentimental type. Besides, whatever happened to-”

The lights flickered. “ _Put it back_ ,” he growled again, not willing to go down that path but finally feeling prepared to.

Holdo's smirk grew, her suspicions confirmed, and she carefully put his seashell back on the bedside table. She then sighed and clasped her hands in front of her, walking towards them. “Quaint place,” she said when they came face to face.

After a moment's worth of staring, Poe backed away to make room for her to leave, being sure to keep Finn and Snap behind him. He didn't dare to turn and check on them, too caught up with making sure Holdo didn't so much as _glance_ to them again. She already used Snap for her gain but thankfully didn't see him worth more of her time. Poe did _not_ want her anywhere near Finn.

But she kept her eyes on him as she passed by and walked slowly down the hall. Poe followed her and stopped at the threshold, his friends shuffling behind. “It's... comfortable,” she continued. “Very quiet. Very _you_. It's-” She paused and glanced around the living room, trying to find the right words and laughing instead. “It's _so_ boring.”

“Amilyn.” He wasn't going to ask again.

“We can't visit first?” she asked, turning to him with a smirk that screamed derision. “It's been-... Oh, how long now? Kennedy, at least, right? How's Leia? I know you must have kept in contact.” Poe simply glared at her and refused to rise to the jabs until finally, Holdo rolled her eyes. She sighed and smiled at him again. “Fine. I'm putting together a new coven.”

“No.”

“With the internet and all the new technology the flock keeps putting out, I thought it'd be easier than ever to get a large, diverse group started, like the last one in Europe.”  
  
“No,” he said again.

“But I don't want it to be like the ones of the past. I want to have a _counsel_ -”

“No.”

“-and it'll be made up of the most experienced and wisest of our kind. No one under a century, at least.”

“I will _not_ tell you a fourth time.”

Finally, Holdo paused and took a deep breath, clasping her hands in front of her again. “Sweetheart, besides myself, you're the oldest vampire I know. Given our history, despite whoever else I find to fill the spots, it just won't be the same without you.”

The dimming lights were beginning to buzz in strain, but Poe managed to speak clearly without making a move. “You'll figure it out.”

She gave a sad smile and finally seemed to turn serious. “Poe. This is our retirement.” And just like he _knew_ she would do, Holdo finally glanced over his left shoulder to Finn. A bulb in the kitchen blew out, but she didn't seem to notice as she looked back to Poe. “Personally, I think you've been off the wagon too long.”

“Get out of my territory,” he answered. “Take no one with you.”

Her smile was small and disappointed, but she shrugged her shoulders and began backing away. “Rome wasn't built in a day. There'll be plenty of time to sign on later.” The door opened on its own, and Holdo walked out with a wink and laugh in her wake. “See you soon, sweetie.”

The door closed. The electricity stopped buzzing.

Snap quietly and tentatively started mumbling. “Who was-... How did-... The lights-”

“What the _hell_ was that?” Finn asked a lot louder.

Poe scrubbed at his eyes and doubled back towards the bathroom. “I need an aspirin.”

* * *

Finn stared down the hall, his boyfriend having disappeared in the bathroom a couple of minutes ago. But he had nothing else to stare blankly at so he kept it up for a beat. “What the hell was that?” he asked Snap.

“Dude, I don't even-” the other man scratched at his hairline, looking around the room, bewildered, like he had been suddenly dumped into an alien world. When he spoke again, his voice carried down the hall. “Since when do you have a _territory_? And what happened to the kitchen light?”

“That was me,” Poe sighed before shuffling out of the bathroom, walking by them, and faceplanting into the couch. “Don't touch it. I'll fix it later,” his muffled voice said.

Finn and Snap's eyes met before the latter blurted out, “You could _do that_?” since Finn seemed unable to speak.

Poe grunted in reply.

Snap opened and closed his mouth a few times, brows furrowed together. “For a guy who cried after his first date, you sure do seem like a secret badass.”

Finn finally found his voice. “He did what?”

“God, Snap, why would you-?” Poe groaned and patted the coffee table, then his back pockets, and started rolling onto his side. “Where'd my phone go?”

“Here.” Still confused as hell with way too much information to process, Finn walked forward and tugged the phone out of the pocket between Poe and the couch. He handed it over and sat on the floor. “Baby, what's going on?”

“Nothing,” Poe answered, squinting at the bright light of his contact list. “Well, nothing now. I fixed it. There's nothing to worry about.”

Snap gave a crazed sort of laugh before falling into a chair. “Nothing, he says.”

“You're fine, I promise,” Poe said, glancing between his nephew and his phone. “She only did it so you'd let her in the apartment. It's an old charming trick.”

“She could have _asked_.”

“She doesn't know how.”

As Poe started texting someone, Finn looked around and tried to stop being bewildered. This felt _so_ out of his element. And they were having such a nice night, too. Instead, he took a moment to brush a few stray strands of hair out of his vampire's eyes. “Your head okay?”

“Huh? Oh.” Poe looked up from the phone and offered a small smile. “Yeah, I'm fine. It's her that gives me headaches. Not-” He paused to wave his hand around, apparently meaning the... what, telepathy? Whatever that had been. “She's just a pain in my back. I'm all right, sweetie. Glad she's gone.”

Apparently, he was confident that she would actually leave. “Who is she?”

“She's-” Poe stopped and scrunched up his face. “Well, she's hardly a friend. She's Amilyn Holdo, a vampire. I've known her for a long time. Way too long. We were in a couple of covens together. The only covens I've been in, really.”

“And you don't want to be in this new one with her?”

“No.” He frowned, stared blankly at his phone, then sighed and leaned over for a kiss. “Those only end one way, cariño. I wouldn't have even joined the second one if I didn't have a choice. How do you make voices talk through the speaker instead of the earpiece on this thing? I know there's a way.”

“Press the speaker button,” Finn answered absently, trying to digest that whole thing. Between the _one way_ and the _cariño_ and whatever circumstances that second coven was all about, he didn't know what to ask first.

But then the room filled with the sound of a dial tone, and Finn missed his chance. Later, maybe. Then an older woman's voice answered. “ _Poe_.”

“Leia.”

Finn looked between Poe and the phone with wide eyes. Snap just sighed and sank into the chair.

“ _She still remembers that perfume from Paris I like_ ,” Leia said. “ _The lavender one. You remember?_ ”

Poe groaned and scrubbed at his eyes again. “You knew she was here.”

“ _I only just found it when I took your call. Did you speak to Jessica yet?_ ”

“I texted her. Haven't heard back yet,” he grumbled, rolling on to his side, consequently facing Finn now. When their eyes met, Poe smiled. “Finn and Snap got to meet her. They're okay.”

“ _Lovely_ ,” Leia sighed. “ _She's already gone, from what I can feel, and without anyone else. I doubt we'll have much to worry about._ ”

“She'll be back.”

“ _We'll see._ ” Poe hummed in response. “ _Come by tomorrow evening. And stop worrying._ ”

“All right,” he huffed, and the call ended.

For a moment, the room stayed silent, everyone staring at each other and not knowing what to say. Then Snap thankfully broke the tension. “I'm still confused about the territory thing.”

Finn had to blink hard to keep from looking at Snap like he was insane. “ _That's_ what you're confused about?”

“Baby,” Poe asked, “why are you sitting on the floor?”

“Because I'm trying not to panic and being on the ground is literally grounding me right now.”

Before Finn could trip himself into a rabbling upset, Poe sat up and grabbed him by the shoulders in one motion, pulling the mermaid forward until they were both on the couch. Truth be told, Poe's warm weight against him and strong arm around his back were a lot better than the floor. “I know all that happened really fast,” Poe said, “but she's not going to hurt anyone here. I'm sorry I got angry with her. She _does_ piss me off, but it was more of dominance display type of- That sounds ridiculous. I wanted her to know where I stood up front, that's all. She's not going to mess with you because she doesn't want to cross a line with me. Unless, I- Wait, did-” Poe's comforting words tapered away, and his eyes were suddenly wide. “Did _I_ scare you? I didn't- I- I wasn't- I wanted to-”

“No,” Finn answered, not totally sure, but placed his head on his boyfriend's shoulder anyway. “No, Poe, I'm not scared of you.” That part was true. Then again, Finn _hadn't_ been afraid of him before. He had felt afraid _for_ him. It really sucked not knowing what the hell was going on. “If you say we're okay, then everything's okay.”

Poe sighed, his body sagging with relief. “Okay.”

“I do have a slightly awkward question, though.”

“You can stay the night,” Poe answered without having to be asked.

“To be honest,” Snap spoke up, still staring at the ceiling, “I'm totally against either of you leaving right now. Staying is a _great_ plan. Please do that.”

“We're safe,” Poe said again, rubbing a comforting hand in circles against Finn's shoulder.

While Finn did believe him completely, he still wanted to know more. He had thought on Poe's past before, but as a beautiful tale he hadn't been told yet, not a potentially dangerous drama still playing out. He knew that everyone's life was hard, that everyone had ghost and demons of the metaphorical sort, but this was the first time he really thought about what 200 years worth of demons looked like. After all, he had no _idea_ that Poe could... do... whatever he had done. He didn't seem to know a lot about Poe suddenly.

He looked to the other man, finding his boyfriend staring into the space between himself and the floor, still rubbing Finn's shoulder absently but mind off in some distant part of the world. He didn't look very happy but there was no anger there either. Poe was frowning, eyes speaking of some sadness, and he held Finn as if he were nothing more than a security blanket. It made him feel... almost inadequate. Here was something he couldn't help with. Here was something beyond him.

He glanced over to Snap, hoping that maybe someone else would be better equipped, but the other man just looked between them and seemed just as dejected as the mermaid felt.

Coming up with nothing that could really help, Finn figured distraction was the next best thing. He reached a handover and squeezed Poe's knee. “How about that light you promised to fix? I want to help.”

At length, Poe blinked back to himself and looked over at Finn before smiling and pecking a kiss on his forehead. “I'll get it. You and Snap decide on something to eat.” And with that, he stood and walked away.

Finn watched him disappear again, this time in the kitchen, as his mind worked on how to rectify this.

Snap hummed quietly behind him. “Maybe he shouldn't go to Leia's alone tomorrow.”

That was a thought.

* * *

Having Finn so near was probably what kept Poe from a harsh and familiar spiral, but he only felt like he could breathe again once Jess texted him back. Her reply was one of confusion, having apparently not run into Holdo herself in some recruitment scheme. He knew Amilyn wouldn't be risky enough to test him like that. She was well aware how much he cared for others, that it was a weakness and strength of his. She wouldn't cross that line, but the thought had terrified him regardless.

A spark of purple against the water caught his eye and brought him back to the present again. Then Finn's head and shoulders emerged from the filled tub, and he wondered not for the first time that night how he could be so distracted with someone so lovely in his midst. Since things had calmed down, they were each other's shadow. Either he was following Finn or Finn followed him. In this case, apparently his scales needed to soak after the polish dried, and they had missed that window in the evening's excitement. Poe had been eager to catch up on it, to watch Finn's beautiful scales reflect the light in his own home, but even resting his arms against the tub to watch was too little to keep him centered. It sucked. Perfectly good night shot to hell.

But without speaking, Finn wrapped his wet hands around either side of the vampire's jaw and brought him in for a deep kiss. Poe wasn't sure what it was supposed to convey but vowed to think on that later as his mind turned off for a well-deserved rest.

When they pulled apart, Poe was very happily distracted. “Were you inviting me in?”

“Always,” Finn said with a blinding smile. “Just assume you're always invited.”

He hummed back. “That's a slippery slope, you know,” he said, leaning forward for a kiss as Finn slowly submerged with a playful grin. “Shouldn't give a vampire an invitation like that.” Before he could think up anything else to say, he quickly kissed Finn while the mermaid was still above water. But Finn grabbed his shirt and pulled him under, still kissing the life out of him while Poe braced himself against the tub.

He was already laughing before pulling his head from the drench, giggling at the spray his hair put off when he tossed the mass from his eyes.

Finn reappeared, smiling and laughing as he propped himself against the edge. “Well, what about you?” he asked with those teasing eyes that had been so worried all night. This was a much better look on him. “Am I invited anywhere or resigned to the tub for the night?”

“You mean my bed?” Poe asked, leaning forward again, hardly an inch between them.

And Finn just smiled back. “Mmm, maybe. Awfully presumptuous.”

“No, not presumptuous. Optimistic,” he corrected. “Daring, even. Probably a touch of senility.”

Finn laughed, the most absolute desired reaction. “I might be persuaded,” he began but the smirk dissolved there a little, “if... you let me go with you tomorrow?”

It didn't quite feel like a bucket of ice water but it did remind him that maybe he should... be keeping this at a distance. Arm's length, at least. He didn't want Finn anywhere nearer to that mess than he already was. But while the thought of pulling Finn in made him fill with anxiety and dread, keeping him at a distance tasted of sour and fear and pain. He was selfish. He didn't want to let go. And after seeing Finn's reaction tonight, keeping him away would end just the same as letting him go.

“All right,” he found himself saying. It wouldn't be _that_ bad. Besides, he wanted to bring the mood back in. “You have to promise to be good tonight, though.”

Finn noticeably brightened and offered him a chuckle. “I'm _always_ good. It's you that's a troublemaker.”

“You're not wrong,” Poe answered with another kiss. “Hey, really. Leia can be a little intimidating sometimes. Don't let her shake you up.”

“I won't,” Finn promised. “'Sides, we already met.”

“Good,” Poe said and stole another kiss... Then blinked and pulled back. “Wait, what?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Holdo may seem ooc and a bit cruel in this, but she's really not like that? More of her and the relationship she and Poe have will be explained later.
> 
> Anyway, I figured we'd do some vampire stuff since we've had so much mermaid stuff. I'm interested in your reactions about this side of Poe...
> 
> Thank you for reading! And thank you for all of the input last chapter!


	20. Chapter 20

Finn was a little too aware that they'd been spending so much time together and have yet to get sick of each other. Though he had plans to go back home soon, spending the night and most of the day cuddled up to Poe had been very enjoyable. And they finally got through _Mad Max_ , too.

It took time, but Poe had slowly turned less melancholic and more silly again. He was back to being bashful and seemed nervous about Finn and Leia meeting for the second time. While he had asked for details about their first meeting, Finn told him the gist of it and left out the important bit. He still wasn't completely certain about Leia's words yet, and it didn't really matter if he was. If Poe loved him, he should say so himself.

And then there was the fact that Finn was pretty certain about his own feelings. Keeping his secret felt similar to keeping an excited octopus under a blanket. He _wanted_ to say something but it was far too soon. A confession like that would just as likely scare Poe away for good.

Or would it? After all, Finn had watched Poe very gently place his new seashell next to the old one, touching them feather light as if they could shatter. He certainly cared... Bah. Best to keep his secret until he had more information. The visit from Amilyn Holdo the night before proved he knew very little about Poe. Maybe Rose and Rey were right?

A kiss against his temple brought him away from the darkening thoughts and back to the present. He and Poe were walking down the street, having gravitated together until they each had an arm around the other's waist. Poe was looking at him with a hint of concern. “You all right?”

“Yeah, of course,” he answered quickly, pulling his boyfriend against him a little tighter. “Just got lost in thought is all.” And he didn't want Poe to ask about it either. “Why do you think Leia wants to see you in person?”

Poe hummed and tilted his head away, looking back down the street. “It's more for my benefit than hers, I think. Holdo used to rattle me back in the day. Everything's fine now, we know where each other stands, but I think Leia wants to make sure everything's okay.”

There was so much of a story here, but this was hardly the time to ask. “I'm sorry she's such a pain for you.”

The vampire laughed. “It's not that bad anymore, honest.” Finn didn't entirely believe that. “Leia just wants to sit down, force tea down my throat, and probably become your new best friend or something. I'm sure she knows we're both going tonight.”

“It's kinda weird that she can know things be- Oh.” Finn kept his stride steady but blinked up the street at a very large... house? Mansion? It almost looked like a complex, but Finn couldn't tell where the property really ended. Regardless, there was a large, paved path leading to an ornate front entrance with no room for a driveway given the barrier posts. That was probably one of the reasons why Ben was angrily stomping back to his police car parked on the curb. “I take it that's the place.”

“Yep,” Poe sighed. “Do you wanna go around the block or-?”

“Nah,” Finn sighed, too. “Too late, anyway. His ace detective skills have spotted us.”

Poe snorted, though whether he was laughing at Finn's joke or Ben's eyes nearly popping out of his skull was a mystery.

“ _What are_ -!?” Ben stopped and took a breath, though it did little for his red complexion. He stomped off of the path and straight towards them. “Why didn't you report Holdo to the police?”

“She didn't-”

Ben cut Poe off, now standing in front of them. “Breaking and entering is a crime, Dameron.”

“A crime vampires can't commit,” Poe said easily. “Snap let her in. You know how hard it is to prove those tricks in court, much less track down the one that did it.”

That just seemed to make Ben angrier, but Finn could kind of get that. It was a little scary that there could be no repurcussions for such a thing. “You still should have reported to the police that there was a dangerous vampire in the area.”

“By the time I could have, she was already gone,” Poe continued. “She wasn't a threat, anyway. I had it handled. If Snap wants to press charges, that's between him and you guys. Otherwise, she never committed a crime and wasn't dangerous.”

“Are you defending her actions?” Ben asked a few octaves higher than needed.

“No, I'm stating a fact. Besides, she's gone now. It's over.”

“She'll be back,” Ben bit out before finally acknowledging Finn. “You see what I mean? He defends people like this. He'll defend _her_ over _anyone_ else in this town.”

Apparently, Finn was the only one that could hear Poe growling somewhere deep in his throat since Ben didn't seem intimidated. The mermaid looked between them. Poe glaring a hole through Ben, and Ben staring down Finn. He couldn't stand it anymore. “What is the problem between you two?”

“Nothing,” Poe answered first.

Ben let out a sharp laugh. “Your whole deal is my problem, Dameron,” he grouched before looking back at Finn. “All he does is lie and keep secrets. If he's hiding something so simple from you, what else do you think-?”

“Ben asked me to turn him, and I said no.”

The only sounds of the night that Finn could hear was distant traffic and a dog's bark. Considering the silence that fell between the three of them, he honestly thought he'd hear more. Instead, he watched Poe look confidently up at Ben, daring him to speak, while Ben just stared down at Poe with wide eyes and a shocked face. It was almost comical, actually.

Finally, Ben came to life in a sputtering fury before deciding on saying, “If you see that woman again, you _best_ let law enforcement know!”

“Yes, officer,” Poe responded to Ben's retreating back. The cop looked back to them before getting in the car, slamming the door, starting the vehicle, and peeling away. Poe just tilted his head back and groaned at the sky. “I'm sorry.”

“Somehow, I don't think you're the one at fault here,” Finn said, watching the car screech around a corner. “That said, it's almost a shame you said no. He fits the vampire stereotype to a T.”

Poe snorted again and started walking them down the path. “That's about three-quarters of the reason why I said no.”

“He'd be wearing black lipstick and popping up out of coffins-” Finn was cut short by Poe's sudden, hard laugh. The mermaid smiled. That's better.

* * *

The front door opened of its own volition, but Finn didn't seem worried about that so Poe wasn't going to fret. They walked inside the lavish foyer, and Poe let his feet steer him towards the glass doors and enclosed veranda. Sure enough, Leia was sitting primly next to a small table complete with a tea set and two empty chairs, just sipping her drink and watching the clear sky.

He squeezed Finn once before letting go and moving closer to her, kissing her on the cheek. “Hello, Leia. I brought a friend.”

“So I heard,” she said with a smirk, looking out of the corner of her eyes at him. She then turned more fully to Finn, gesturing to the chair across from hers. “Please, Finn, take a seat.” That left Poe with the chair behind the table, between them... What was she doing?

“Thank you,” Finn said with a polite and beautiful smile, taking his spot. He did seem a little nervous but there was honesty there, too. “It's good to see you again.”

“And you,” she nodded as Poe belatedly took his seat. “Do you drink tea? Feel free to take your fill.”

“Yes, thank you,” Finn said happily, starting to partake in his tea making.

Poe felt... out of the loop. Was something else going on here? It felt like something very subtle has happening. Should he be worried about it? Before he could think any further, Leia plopped down a small but shapely bottle of purple liquid on the table between them. Oh, yeah. He did remember that perfume now. “Why don't _you_ ever buy me nice things from Paris?”

He raised an eyebrow. “You and I remember the Louvre very differently.”

“If it's before 1940, it doesn't count,” she argued. He rolled his eyes. “How do you like the tea, Finn? You can have sugar and milk if you like.”

“It's very good, but no, thank you. I prefer it plain.”

She nodded again and waved at the pot. “And you, Poe?”

Feeling defeat somewhere in his near future, Poe began to make his cup of milk with a touch of tea, hoping Leia wasn't going to repeat his ' _piss of capitalism_ ' quote again.

That seemed to satisfy her for the moment. “So, what did Amilyn want?”

“For me to form a coven with her,” Poe answered, making a face at the bitter drink and the memory.

Leia just hummed and nodded again. “And I heard that you got to meet her,” she said to Finn. “What did you think?”

Looking caught off guard by the question, Finn paused. “She's... intimidating. And a little weird, if I'm honest.”

“She always was eccentric,” Leia said with a little smile while Poe frowned at the intimidating bit. Finn should never have to worry about her. “Holdo's harmless to you, I promise.”

“I'm not worried,” Finn clarified with a smile. “She was just very different. That's all.”

Oh. Now... that is a revelation.

“Poe?”

He whipped his head away from Finn's beautiful eyes. “Yes?”

The smirk Leia wore was far too knowing for his liking. Why did this feel so awkward? Why didn't Finn feel awkward, too? “Did you run into Ben out front?”

“Yeah.” She knew damn well they did.

“Don't let him bother you,” she said needlessly, straightening up. “His father's paying a visit. They always rile each other up.”

Well, that was a surprise. “Han's here?” While the love between the ghost and Leia was strong, they'd been estranged for quite some time. For most of his afterlife, actually. Poe figured it was Ben's doing but never guessed aloud.

“Sulking somewhere, no doubt,” she sighed into her cup. “I don't know how long he'll stay but I don't doubt he'll pay you a visit. Warn Temmin, just in case. That poor boy's been through enough this week.”

“Right,” Poe huffed a laugh, picturing what sarcastic remark Snap would have about a ghost passing through their wall and asking for a beer. “How's Chewie?”

“Shedding on my upholstery as we speak,” she answered then promptly changed the subject. “So, Finn, we didn't get to talk very much before. How long have you been in this town? Were you born here?”

“No, I've lived here a few years now,” he happily answered, apparently really enjoying this visit. “I was born in the Northern Atlantic near Iceland.” Wait, what? He didn't know that.

“Iceland. That's fascinating,” Leia said, prodding so subtely as she was prone to. “Far away, too. Doesn't the current work against coming down this way?”

Finn visibly brightened. “It does, yes. The trip took awhile, but it was worth it. Besides, I had friends with me. We came as a group, so it was easier.”

She nodded. “What made you choose this place and not somewhere the current traveled?”

He shrugged back. “We picked here. It was a harder journey but a shorter distance in the long run.”

“I see,” Leia nodded again, sipping her tea. “And has Poe made you his famous Tiramisu yet?”

The vampire choked on his milk. “What?”

“Um, no,” Finn answered, confused but apparently delighted about it.

“That's a shame. You would love it,” she said before turning her teasing smirk on her victim. “Why haven't you cooked for him yet?”

“I'm gonna.”

Leia hummed. “Well, when you do, bring me a piece.”

“Anything else you want on the menu?”

“Don't get cute now,” she said with a smile. “Besides, you should ask _him_ , not me.”

Funny, since Finn didn't get to pick the dessert. Wait, what did Finn even like? Oh! “I can make sushi.”

The mermaid looked at him wide eyed. “You can make sushi?”

Leia laughed into her cup. “Sounds like a dinner plan, then.”

* * *

They were walking again, back in each other's arms, moving idly along the beach not unlike that first night. Finn had intended to just go straight home after the whole ordeal was settled but he hadn't wanted to leave Poe. Since Poe didn't seem too excited about leaving him either, they just walked the beach until the morning hours.

Oh, what the hell. “You can come back to my place again if you want.”

Poe smiled down at the sand. “I'd love to take you up on that but I should probably go shopping for our meal between now and the next date. I want _something_ to be a surprise.”

_Again_ , Poe was buying for him. Finn needed to up his game.

Instead of saying that outloud, he snuggled closer against Poe's ribs. “I'd like anything. You can get McDonald's, claim you cooked it and put it in the bag, and I'd love it.”

“You're worth a _little_ more effort than that,” Poe chuckled, pecking another kiss on his temple. “Besides, I said I'd teach you, remember? You have to be a witness now.”

While he did very much love being doted on, Finn was starting to feel a bit guilty. He wanted to be worth all of this attention, and the feeling that he hadn't been pulling his own weight was looming. It was a weird feeling. He didn't know why it was there. Finn decided to try helping in a different way after resting his head against Poe's shoulder. “Are you okay after the other night?”

“Yeah,” Poe said, kissing the top of his head this time. “I'm okay.”

“Would you tell me if you weren't?”

The vampire paused, resting his cheek against Finn. “I don't know...” Finn moved away to look at him. “But I'm okay.”

He believed Poe, at least. They stopped walking as Finn moved to get in front of him, kissing him properly and running a thumb against Poe's lip. “Did you think about what we talked about before?”

Poe visibly stopped breathing for a second. “A little... You still need to look into it more.”

“I know,” he said with a little smile. “Just wanted to know if you thought about it.”

“Yeah,” the vampire answered breathlessly, eyes on Finn's lips and steadily moving closer. “I thought about it,” he said, taking him into another sweet, deep kiss. When they pulled away, their foreheads leaned against each other. “I'll see you soon, Finn Midae?”

He couldn't help but smile at the way that sounded. “I'll see you soon, Poe Dameron.”

Instead of leaving, Poe just swept him into another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, cute, and a few questions get answered.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	21. Chapter 21

Everything. Had to be. Perfect. “You don't understand!”

“You're right! I don't!” Snap was leaning against the living room wall, a hand on each temple, trying and failing to ignore Poe rattling around in the kitchen. “All you've told me is that your date has to be perfect. I haven't the _slightest_ idea what you want from me.”

“Just- Just, like-” Poe stopped digging through their pantry for a moment to pop his head into the living room. “He's gonna come over, okay?”

“Uh-huh.”

“And our date has to be _perfect_. I can't mess it up this time.”

“I could argue about that second part but, sure, okay.”

“That means no weird jokes. No jokes about my height. No jokes about Dracula. _Definitely_ no jokes about my age. God, please, don't bring that up. I don't think I can-”

“Wait. Wait.”Snap closed his eyes and remembered that a Poe in hysterics was a Poe hard to reason with. Without opening his eyes, he reminded, “You're about to have your _perfect_ date. Why in the hell do you think I'll be here?”

Poe was silent for a minute and only realized he should answer when Snap looked at him again. “You live here?” he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I'm not about to be your damn third wheel!” the other protested. “I already made plans with Karé, man. Of course, I wasn't going to be here.”

Poe blinked. “That actually makes a whole lot more sense.”

“Yeah, imagine that,” Snap groaned, hitting his head against the wall. When the vampire started looking through the pantry again, Snap continued. “For the record, Finn seems like the high-brow humor kind of guy. He'd totally love my Dracula jokes.”

Poe looked back into the living room. “Did you say you had plans with Karé?”

Snap stared straight ahead for a moment. “I don't know. Did I say that?”

“Oh my God.”

“ _No_ ,” Snap groaned.

But Poe was suddenly having a revelation. “Oh my _God_. I've been so caught up with Finn, I haven't even noticed.”

“There's nothing _to_ notice,” Snap groaned again, dragging a hand down his face. “Nothing's happening. Nothing happened. Nothing's going to happen-”

“Not with that attitude,” Poe chuckled

“ _No_ ,” the human said, wagging his finger. “No. It's not like that. We're gonna watch _Apollo 13_ , play _Mario Kart_ , gossip about you, and that's it. Nothing.” Poe, keeping a straight face, drummed his fingers on the pantry. Snap repeated, “Nothing.”

“We're definitely related,” Poe mumbled, going back to the pantry just in time to hear Snap's head hit the wall again. “We don't even have nori in here. We're so uncultured. When did this happen to me?”

“When the Chinese place down the road started selling those eggrolls you like too much?”

“Yeah, probably. We eat out a lot. We don't even have _soy sauce_. Two bachelors and no soy sauce in this apartment. What are we?”

“Uncultured, since I have no idea what nori is,” Snap sighed. “You act like this is all new. You even been to Japan?”

Poe stared at the bag of rice they had kept at the bottom of the pantry, reading the weight to himself four times until eventually answering, “A lifetime ago.” He put the bag back in its place and looked at their food. “I need to go shopping. For more than just the fish, I mean. I even need more coffee for the Tiramisu.”

When he closed the pantry doors, his eyes caught Snap's. The other man held a look between concern and suspicion before just shrugging and letting it go, much to Poe's relief. “Don't forget to stop at the pharmacy for lu-”

“Ha ha ha, you're so clever, Snap. Want me to make leftovers for when you get back?”

“Day old sushi? I'll pass. That cake thing sounds good, though.”

“ _Cake thing_ ,” Poe sighed, putting his arms through his jacket and checking his grocery list again. “Your ancestors weep.”

“You're from Guatemala, not Italy.”

“I _knew_ you were messing with me.”

“ _Go_ ,” Snap laughed, pushing himself away from the wall. “Go shopping, please, for goodness sake. Bring food back if you're coming home at a decent hour. And don't forget the rose petals, either.”

Poe dug in his pocket for the list. “I forgot about the-”

Snap groaned at the ceiling.

* * *

A vampire bite was one of those innocuous things that everyone _thinks_ they know about. The sky is blue, potatoes are filled with starch, and vampires bite. What's there to know about? Finn had seen some media about vampires biting people, and the bitten was either screaming in fear or moaning in pleasure. It never did seem accurate.

Apparently, something about it was, though, the overacting aside. According to the scholarly article that the wiki page lead him to, vampires gave off some sort of hormone kick when they bit down. It was supposed to make the other person more _into it_ , as it were, and less willing to cause a scene. If the person was already afraid beforehand, they reacted badly. If they were _agreeable_ beforehand, though...

“This is getting kinky fast,” Finn murmured to himself, scrolling to the next section of the article. He had started this educational adventure at home, lounging on his stomach in the sun. The sun had long since set, though, and he wasn't about to get up anytime soon. He was finally getting to the good parts. No wonder Poe wanted him to do some research.

There were points in this article that he hadn't even _thought_ to ask about, up to and including STIs. Vampires were immune to most everything, apparently. Anyway, out of all the information so far, nothing had yet to make Finn stop and think that this wasn't a good idea. It was actually a _fantastic_ idea. But he thought back on what Poe had said about feeding on willing people before. He hadn't mentioned... things like this. Maybe it didn't always work like the article claimed? He'd have to ask. He had _so many_ questions now.

His phone automatically closed the article and started ringing. Wanting to get back to work as fast as possible, he quickly answered. “Hello?”

Rey's voice answered back. “ _Hey, sorry for not texting, but this is time sensitive_ ,” she began. “ _The burger shack is having a sale. Buy a cheeseburger half off, get one free. It ends in like fifteen minutes. They aren't kidding around._ ”

“Chocolate shake?”

“ _I got you._ ”

“I'll be at the pier soon, then,” he said with a laugh. “Hey, Rey, what do you know about vampire bites?”

“ _Hi, yes, two cheeseburgers, fries, and shakes. One strawberry, one chocolate. I don't think I could handle pull off a piercing like that._ ”

“What?”

A muffled voice on the other end asked the same question. “ _Nothing! Nothing. Here's a ten. Finn, are we talking about piercings?_ ”

“No?” he answered, still confused. “I'm talking about my boyfriend, the _actual_ vampire.”

“ _Oh!_ ” she exclaimed then repeated it in realization. “ _Ooooh. Oh, we are definitely talking about this one in person. Pier. Quickly. Or I'll eat your burger._ ”

“Yes, ma'am,” he sighed and hung up. Finn checked his phone one more time to make sure all the tabs were still up for the articles he'd been thumbing through before rolling off of his rock and diving underwater.

Rey probably didn't have any more information that he'd found on his own, so he was starting to regret bringing the topic up at all. She had been a little... suspicious of Poe's intentions for a while. Was suspicious even the right word? What if she took this development the wrong way? What if she really started to think Poe was using him?

This was probably about to be a really awkward cheeseburger...

He made it to the small cove where his clothes were kept in record time and the pier was just a quick walk away. The fair was gone now, but the absence did nothing to keep the memories of the date at bay. It had been such a beautiful night, too.

Rey was sitting on a bench by the railing, not the same one he and Poe had sat on that night, which was for the best honestly. Before he could sit, she held his shake out to him while munching on her fries. “All right, you have to tell me _everything_. I've clearly been missing out on your love life as of late.”

“There's nothing to tell,” he said with a shrug, taking his seat. But the glare he got made him sigh and continue. “It's really nothing, though. I asked if he had bitten willing people before, he said yeah, I asked if he would bite me, he said to do some research first, so I'm doing research now.”

“ _You_ asked _him_?” she said incredulously, the effect which was ruined as she ate another french fry. “That was his response? For you to do research? I need details, Finn!”

“That was the response, yeah.” He sighed and shook his head, digging into the bag for one of the burgers. “You bought the last three times, Rey. I'm taking you out soon.”

“Don't change the subject.” She paused to take a loud sip of her shake through the straw as if on purpose... Probably was on purpose. “Why'd you ask?”

He started on unwrapping the foil around his burger, already looking forward to it. “He told me to do research. I thought maybe asking different people-”

“No, no. Why'd you ask _him_? Why did you ask him to feed on you?”

Oh. He blinked down at the pier's wooden planks. “Because it'd be hot?”

“ _Finn_.”

Well, he wasn't _wrong_. “I don't know! I mean, I just thought he'd be into it, you know? He does a lot for me, a lot of little things, and I just wanted to do something for him, too. He's got so much going on, and I just feel like... I can't help.” He even felt that way before Holdo when it was just their gifts weighing on his mind... Though maybe he should stop being a living waterfall and telling Rey everything.

“I've clearly been missing things,” she said with slitted eyes, tapping her cup with her finger. Finn just sighed and bit into his burger. “What's he done to make you start feeling inadequate all of a sudden?”

“Nothing!” And it was true. He sighed again and leaned back enough to look at the sky. “Nothing. He's just... _wonderful_ , and I don't want to mess this up. Like... I _really_ don't want to mess this up, Rey. I like him. Like, I _like like_ him. I think I might even L-O-V-E him.”

“That's a very strong string of letters, Finn. _How long_ have you been dating again?”

And there goes another one of his insecurities. “I know! I know. I'm all weird. I know.” He had to physically stop himself from smacking the burger into his face. “I just want to do more for him. I already want to buy him something but I have no idea what. He seemed to like the seashells, but I have no idea why. I just generally don't have any idea. You know he's making me sushi tomorrow night? Like he's _making_ sushi for me. How's that not amazing?”

Rey shrugged, her mouth full of food.

“And he got me that super expensive polish for my scales,” he continued, “and this amazing glass lotus. The color matches my tail and everything! It's beautiful, and I got him a few pieces of evicted skeletons from the bottom of the seafloor.”

“Don't be like that,” she scolded. “You thought of him. That's what counts. I mean, he's a guy who has everything, right? All he could want is to be thought of.”

He grimaced at his food. “I could at least try to start having better thoughts.”

“ _Fiiiiiinn_ ,” she admonished again.

“You're right. You're right.” He sighed and sipped at his drink. “I just want to do this for him. And _I want it, too_ , so don't even go there.”

Rey _humphed_ and leaned back against the railing, eating another fry. “Well, if I knew it was something you really wanted to do, I would probably tell you not to worry about the whole biting thing. I imagine he also knows what he's doing.”

“Thanks, Rey.”

She waved her hand in dismissal. “Just make sure this is something you _want_ , not something you feel like you have to give. Even if you do end up enjoying it, that should never be a reason to give part of yourself, spiritually, physically, or otherwise.”

He nearly automatically replied with reassurance before making himself stop and think about it. He tried to imagine Poe like the vampires in those old movies. Sleek and sexy, sure, but also frightening. It was an image he couldn't really conjure up, but he did know what a hungry Poe looked like. Those intense, half-lidded eyes with a war raging beneath the surface with one side wanting to take and the other wanting to give. He always looked like he was diving in and holding back all at once. Only this time he'd have fangs. Finn hadn't seen his fangs before.

Or maybe it was more clinical than all of that. He was getting ahead of himself. Regardless- “I want it, Rey,” he answered. “I'm sure.”

* * *

Poe walked into a random fish market on the docks and immediately honed in on the display case. He would need the fish pretty fresh, maybe even caught the day of, so he was mostly browsing for selections before placing an advance order.

He wasn't sure what to do with the menu, though. Yes, California Rolls, that's a given but also really easy. He was thinking about getting some salmon or tuna to go with it, maybe shrimp, too. As far as he could see, this place seemed to sell everything. It all looked good, too.

“Can I help you with anything, sir?”

“Um, yeah, do you-?” Poe rose up to look at the man talking to him, who had his arms crossed on the counter and was giving quite a sly look. “Oh... Hi.”

“Hi,” Nick answered. Or Poe was pretty sure his name was Nick. He was definitely one of Finn's co-workers. And he was definitely enjoying the fact that Poe had stumbled into his shop. “So. What's up?”

“I, uh- You have any sushi-grade tuna?”

“We sure do,” the other answered with a smile before yelling. “ _Slip!_ ”

“I'm literally right here,” another one said, kicking open the double doors to the back. He came in dressed in a long apron, hair net, and carrying a tray of more fillet fish on ice. “You don't have to- Oh.”

This trip was only getting better. Poe gave the most awkward wave he'd probably ever given in his life. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

Nick sniggered. “Mr. Perfect's looking for-”

“Oh, no,” Slip said, putting his tray in the display case. “You're not going to start with that. Finn will never let either of us hear the end of it.”

“I'm not doing nothin',” Nick replied, blinking huge, innocent eyes. “I'm being honest. Ben hates _him_. Ben hates _me_. We're like brothers.”

“Ben hates everyone, though.”

Poe raised his eyebrow and had to interject. “What does he have against you?”

Nick scoffed. Slip just groaned. “Now you've done it.”

The other worker ignored him and started ripping at a loose receipt. “Oh, it's all because I _dared_ to hire mermaids for my crew. That's the word he used. _Dare_. That's literally what he said. Tell him, Slip.”

“That's what he said.”

“And he's been a _constant_ pain in my ass ever since. And poor Finn and Lloyd are his real targets, but the guy is just _such_ a dick towards me cause I went all _daring_ on him. You know he stopped us one morning because he thought we were night fishing? In the _morning_? With the _sun up_?”

“Anyway!” Slip interrupted. “What was it you said you needed?”

Ah. Right. Poe blinked at the two of them. “Any sushi-grade tuna and salmon I can pick up tomorrow? Maybe roe, too?”

“We definitely have tuna,” he started, glancing towards the back as if in thought. “We don't catch the salmon, but we're supposed to get some in tomorrow. No roe, though. That okay?”

Before he could answer, Nick was asking, “Is all this for Finn?”

The other groaned at him. “ _Niner_ , that's _rude_.”

“Well,” Poe shrugged, not sure if he minded the question or not, “it is, actually. I told him I'd show him how to make it...”

“We're getting the roe,” Nick said and tore a larger piece off of the receipt before grabbing a pencil and writing down Poe's order so far. He looked up. “What else you want?”

Slip rolled his eyes. “One of these days, you'll have to stop coddling the kid.”

“He's like a son to me if I had a son when I was five,” Nick answered then looked back at Poe. “And he likes you a lot, so you better not mess this up, Mr. Perfect.”

Poe stared at him and the other unwaveringly stared back... Poe caved and swallowed. “Can I get some squid for calamari, too?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is alternatively titled "The Author Was Hungry While Writing This."
> 
> Also, did you know that fish used for sushi has to be frozen first? I had no idea. Seems obvious now, though.
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading!


	22. Chapter 22

Yes, having an actual date in one of their homes was certainly intimate, but Finn had more anxiety about not bringing anything. Every time he asked, Poe said all he had to bring was himself. Which was great and fine, but he wanted to bring _something_.

Then again, he sort of was. He had read a lot about vampire feedings or bloodletting or biting or whatever the next Wiki article wanted to call it. He'd learned about the concept of thralls and coven culture, which brought on a whole new pile of questions he really wanted and really didn't want to ask Poe about. He'd also found some more modern guides for people in his exact situation, even down to the fact that he was a mermaid. Apparently, he need not worry about poisoning Poe with mercury which wasn't even a thought in his head beforehand.

All in all, he was really happy that he'd done the research. It didn't really change how he felt about it, he wasn't worried that Poe would hurt him, but it was certainly an enlightening journey.

His nerves really just came down to his own performance. “You can do this,” he murmured to himself, limbering up. “You've got this. You're fine. Your boyfriend thinks you're sexy. What else does a guy need? It's fine.” He knocked on Poe's door. “You're fine. Shut up.”

The door opened to reveal Poe, looking devastating and... not entirely fine either. “Finn!” he kind of yelled as if the mermaid's presence was a surprise but the grin he broke out proved it was at least a happy surprise. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Finn laughed back, standing there a little awkwardly as he noticed Poe's hair was flopped to one side and what looked like a little flour was on his cheek. It was adorable but didn't really line up with the whole sushi theme he thought was happening. Not that he cared, really.

After a beat of both of them just staring at each other, Poe hopped in place and backed up. “Right! Right. Come in! Come on in! I, uh-” As Finn walked in, the other waved at the coffee table in the living room. “I didn't know if you were allergic or what kind you liked so I just sort of-”

Finn's eyes widened, and he choked on thin air. “ _Poe_ , you-”

“I know. I know,” he said with a little whine, closing the door behind them. “It's so stupid and cringey. I thought about chocolates but that was kinda overkill with the food and I probably just should have done that anyway but then I didn't know what kind to get so I just went overkill anyway. I'll throw them out later, don't worry about it.”

When Poe finally paused to breathe, Finn shoved his two cents in. “Don't throw them out. I love them, Poe.” At the shocked look he got in return, Finn just smiled and doubled down. “I mean it,” he said with a kiss that segued into a hug. “Thank you.” Now he just needed to figure out how to get six vases of flowers home. How was that going to work?

He decided that the semantics didn't matter when Poe hugged him back tightly. “Sorry,” Poe said in a quiet breath and quickly pulled away before Finn could get another word in. “I made snacks!” he said before taking Finn's hand and hauling him towards the kitchen.

The kitchen was a tiny area with enough room to make a meal. Nothing special but also not very roomy for a lot of guests. For the two of them, it was cozy. For the two of them and all of Poe's scattered yet meticulously organized ingredients, it was packed. There were cucumbers, avocados, carrots, celery, fresh ginger, pickled ginger, blocks of cream cheese, tuna, salmon, eel, shrimp, imitation crab, roe, stacks of nori, a gigantic bowl of rice, _three_ different kinds of wasabi, sesame seeds, spicy mayo, soy sauce, eel sauce-

“ _Holy_ -” There was too much to even mention, some of it he didn't even recognize. Finn looked around the room, worried about putting Poe out _so much_ apparently.

But then a plate with a lemon wedge and some things fried to a golden crisp was in front of his face. “Calamari?” Poe asked, looking absolutely terrified.

Okay. Okay. Finn wasn't sure _why_ Poe was so worried right now, but the why didn't really matter. He had to figure out how to fix this. He considered brushing the offer away and getting right to the heart of the matter, but that would cheapen Poe's efforts to help himself. So Finn took an offered piece of the calamari and tried it. He hadn't had squid before and really hoped he liked it for his boyfriend's sake... Thankfully, he needn't worry. Finn smiled. “That's so good!”

“Oh, good,” Poe wheezed, sagging in near relief. “I kept the pan out and set up the griddle in case we wanted something cooked and that's when I realized that I told you I'd teach you how to cook and that we weren't actually going to cook anything and now cook doesn't even sound like a word anymore.”

“Do you like calamari?”

“Yeah, it's all right.”

“Good,” Finn said and pulled him into a deep, long kiss.

* * *

There was a moment that Poe loved more than anything and despised with a passion all at once, no in-between. He always looked forward to and simultaneously dreaded seeing Finn again. It was _weird_. Being with Finn was often all he could think about in one form or another. Sometimes it felt like his next time seeing Finn was going to somehow go so badly that it was going to also be his last.

He had been in love a few times in the past. None of it felt quite like this, not that any of them felt the same as the next. This love felt _precious_ and innocent and pure, and he _knew_ he was going to screw it up.

And yes, _love_ , he said love. He can't deny it anymore. That'll just make the ending worse.

But there was a moment after the first that made everything stabilize a little bit and put his head back on straight, a moment where he knew where they stood and what they were and became comfortable again. That was this moment, melting against Finn and trying to keep some piece of mind to not drop the plate.

Poe opened his eyes once he belatedly realized that Finn pulled away and wasn't coming back for another kiss. But he also felt like he was waking up from a deep sleep or maybe stumbling into a dream, the world and his feelings about it so totally different from hardly a minute ago.

And Finn was giving him a sweet smile that Poe couldn't help but return in a way he knew had to look dopey. The other man, his... _lover_ , gently brushed away something stuck to Poe's cheek. “Hey.”

“Hey,” he sighed back.

Finn laughed at him and took the plate from his hands, setting it in one of the last few spots on the table without moving out of reach. “Let's try this,” he said and pulled Poe closer before kissing him again.

It was much better without the distraction.

When Finn pulled away a second time, it was to peck another kiss to Poe's chin. “You're the head chef,” Finn said with another kiss to the edge of his bottom lip, “and I'm your eager understudy.”

Poe giggled as another kiss was placed on his cheek. “Into a bit of roleplay, huh?”

Finn laughed again at him and went in for another proper kiss which Poe couldn't enjoy because he was smiling too damn wide. “I did say _eager_ ,” the mermaid said, pulling away again. “Where do we start?”

He bit his lip to keep from saying the first twelve things that came to mind. “What kind of roll do you want?” Finn hummed in thought. “I can do it all.”

“I'm sure you could,” the other laughed again, _much_ to Poe's happiness. “Let's start with a California Roll while you show me the ropes.”

“All right,” Poe said and set them both to work. Sushi rolls weren't exactly hard, especially if no one cared about the presentation, and Poe's anxiety had fleeted away for the time being enough to enjoy this.

It had started with him and Finn side-by-side, the vampire giving a proper tutorial of what everything was and what to do with it. Finn, for his part, paid rapt attention and asked all the right questions. Then it was time to roll everything together, and Poe took the opportunity to hold Finn from behind to provide his version of help. All he really wanted was to make Finn laugh again, and that mission was a resounding success. “You're a walking cliché, Poe Dameron,” he giggled.

“I thought you liked me because I wasn't like other vampires,” he teased back, kissing him squarely on the cheek. “All right, let's roll her up.” He worked with Finn's hands and the bamboo mat to pack everything together. “See?”

“That's not a roll,” Finn tried to say through his loud laughter. “It's a lump.”

“It's beautiful,” Poe declared with another kiss to his cheek. “We just gotta cut it up now. Wanna eat it or make another first?”

“Let's make another. What do you like?” The mermaid was already pulling some odd ingredients closer, looking like he had a loose yet creative plan, but never jostled Poe away in his movements.

So Poe happily stayed where he was. “I'll eat anything.”

“You like salmon?”

“Love salmon.”

And thus Poe supervised from over Finn's shoulder, arms wrapped loosely around his lover to keep him close with enough freedom to get away. The closeness they were sharing now was one of those precious things Poe would panic about destroying later. For the moment, he was content enough to rest his chin on his lover's shoulder, smile privately to himself at the thought, and watch.

As far as assembling ingredients went, Finn was a natural. Still, this was meant to be about _cooking_ , and Poe was at least thankful he wasn't freaking out about that detail anymore. Instead, he had to figure out what was going to be on the menu for next time. Maybe a nice pasta or something.

Finn, engrossed in what he was doing, intentionally bumped their heads together. “You're quiet.”

Poe hid his smile in Finn's shirt. “I'm planning our next date.”

He was rewarded with a deep laugh. “Enjoy this one first.”

“I will,” he promised, leaning in to place an open mouth kiss against Finn's neck. His love moved his head aside to make room, but Poe pulled away before they got out of hand. “So,” he began, deciding that a conversation would fill his mind better, “the Northern Atlantic.”

“ _J_ _á_ ,” Finn answered with a smile. “Born and raised, more or less.”

“What was it like?”

“Chilly,” the mermaid grinned. “Lots of glaciers and icebergs and whales. Most mermaids like to keep to the poles, mostly out of habit to avoid humans back in the day. There were lots of clans up there, and I was part of one of the bigger ones, the Ein Röð. They were kinda intense. Dramatic. Anyway, there was, like, nothing for the younger ones to do. We'd scour along the glaciers, collect seashells, and trade them with the other kids. I had a nice little horde.”

“I'm sure you did,” Poe chuckled. “What happened to your shells?”

Finn shrugged gently as to not dislodge him. “I don't know. That was years ago. The adults would trade us for the bigger and prettier ones, though. Sometimes they were worth a lot, but the nicer ones were in more dangerous waters. They would wear them with netting or pierce their fins with them or dig them into their skin. It was a status thing.” Then Finn paused and laughed. “I don't know why I'm talking about them. They were all so stuck up.”

“I wanna hear anyway,” Poe said, rubbing a hand in circles on his lover's stomach. He was trying _very_ hard to breathe normally and not let his heart jump out of his chest. The seashells _meant_ something. They meant something _to Finn_. He turned his face into Finn's neck. “What are mine a status of?”

The mermaid hummed, but his voice was a little less bright than it had been before. “I don't know. They wouldn't have liked them. They're too small.”

That-... That _hurt_. That oddly, honestly, genuinely _hurt_. The thought that people would have dismissed _his_ shells, that they apparently weren't _worthy_ of status. It was infuriating and frustrating, but what's worse is that it hurt _Finn_. The happiness in his eyes they had built that evening was _gone_. “I like them,” he said, squeezing Finn a little harder, trying to convey how sorry he was for going down that conversation and ruining this. “I like them a lot.”

And there Finn's smile returned. “Thank you,” he said without meeting his eyes.

“You moved to a new area, so maybe the status on shells is different here,” Poe tried. “You're the expert. You tell me what they mean.”

That got a much bigger smile out of him. “Well, these things take time to decide on, you know,” Finn said with a little laugh, finally looking back to him again. “I might have to get back to you on that one.”

“Any ideas?” he teased, bringing his lover back to their care-free date and thankfully leaving those unwanted thoughts behind.

When Finn kissed him on the nose, he knew he'd won. “Probably... fondness, passion, desire... Maybe lo-”

A loud meow at their feet made them both jump, and Poe glared down at BB. They were _definitely_ never going get back to his seashells' status now! Dammit!

“You have a cat?” Finn asked, said cat meowing again and leaning back on her hind paws, swatting up towards the salmon in the mermaid's hand. “How did I not know you had a cat?”

“She hides from strangers,” he answered with a scowl, but BB was ignoring him.

“You want the fish?” Finn asked her with a silly grin, and Poe found it really hard to stay mad at her. “You want the fish? Huh? You want it?”

BB answered with another loud meow. Poe just hid his face in his lover's shoulder.

* * *

Finn was eternally grateful to the random cat for stopping him from saying something... a little dumb. It was way too soon to start getting _that_ sappy. Right? He had no idea, but it was terrifying anyway. He was even pretty sure that Poe wouldn't think badly of him even if he didn't return those same feelings. But it was just- He didn't want Poe to say it back in a panic and not mean it, for one. That would be awful. Second, he wasn't sure how to handle being met with silence after the confession.

Ugh, he was thinking too much about all of this. It wasn't that big of a deal, after all. Or that's what he told himself as he stroked the cat's fur. Between her curling up in Finn's lap and the flowers surrounding them, he was chilling out a little. Though the flowers and the reminder of his mediocre shells was a whole other point of anxiety. Again, thinking too much.

Poe provided a distraction by coming back into the living room with his cake. “Ta-da,” he said with a little grin, setting it on the table. “It tastes better than it looks. I promise.”

“ _Better?_ Poe, this looks professional! You made it?”

“Yeah,” the other laughed, a tinge of rose on his cheeks. “I try to get them right, but they make them nicer at this little place in Venice.”

The tiramisu was layered neatly with sharp edges, flakes of chocolate decorating the top, and it all smelled incredible. Finn dared anyone in Venice to make one that looked _better_. “Somehow I doubt that,” he said, taking the offered spoon as BB jumped down. “It looks amazing.”

“Thank you,” Poe said with a growing smile and red face, keeping his own spoon but pushing the cake towards Finn. “I had to cut the end off for Leia and Snap, but the rest is ours to eat.”

That was a _lot_ of cake, then, but what a great problem to have. With Poe waving his hand for encouragement, Finn went ahead and tried it. Much like the sushi, it was somehow way better than anything that came before it. Poe was good at this cooking thing. “It _tastes_ amazing!”

“Thanks,” Poe laughed before taking a bite for himself, and they lapsed into silence as they ate for a moment.

Only a few bites in and Finn wanted to fill the silence again. “So where are you from?”

“Guatemala,” he answered then paused for another bite and swallowed. “It's where I was born and turned. After, I just went everywhere. Spent a lot of time in Europe and the Americas. Even lived towards the South Pole for a little while on this island where they used to do some whaling at, but everyone left when the hunting was outlawed.”

That brought up a good question. “Why didn't you stay near one of the poles? Way less daylight.”

Poe chuckled. “It's gonna sound stupid, but I missed the sun while I was there. I missed people.”

“That's not stupid.”

That red tint came back to the vampire's face, and he nodded. “I guess not.”

There was so much Finn wanted to ask him about. Did he make the decision to turn? Why? Had he really fought in wars? What were covens like? How many recipes did he know? How many languages did he know? What were Poe's happiest memories over the last 200 years? But he was also scared of asking those questions, worried they would go down difficult paths. Besides that, there was something else he was thinking about tonight.

After they had lapsed into silence again, Finn decided to take the plunge. He licked his spoon clean, buying a little more time to think about how to approach this. “About that research you wanted me to do,” he began but didn't know how to say the rest. He glanced over at Poe, who was staring at him with wide eyes, a bite of cake paused halfway to his mouth. “I did it,” Finn finished.

Poe worked his mouth but no sound came out for a moment. Then there was a squeak, and he finally started speaking. “Did you- I mean, would- Do you have any questions?”

Finn shook his head.

“Are you still interested?”

Finn nodded. “Very,” he said before dropping his spoon on the plate. He then climbed towards Poe's lap and kissed him as passionately as he could convey.

There was a _clink_ as Poe's spoon must have hit the plate, too, but then two hands were pulling Finn away. “Wait, wait-” The vampire was breathing hard, blinking up at him with beautiful doe eyes. “We should- You should be comfortable. We should do this at your place. Give it a few more-”

“I'm sure, Poe,” he reassured, “and I'm comfortable. If you don't want to or you want to wait longer, that's okay, but I'm sure.”

The vampire stared up at him, seeming lost for words. Then he gulped and took a deep breath. “Let's-... Bedroom.”

Finn hopped out of his lap with a grin, pulling on his boyfriend's hand to make him stand faster. “Should we put the cake on to chill again or-?”

“Cake's fine. Bedroom now.”

The mermaid giggled and lead the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for the wait. And, I promise, the next chapter will be the bite! I'm so sorry for dragging that out, lol.
> 
> Ein Röð is Icelandic for "One Series," I believe. I tried to do "First Order," but Google Translate can only handle so much, so I improvised a little. It kinda works out anyway.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for biting and blood and drinking blood and all that stuff. Should be able to skip by stopping at the beginning of the second section and starting at the paragraph "The vampire leaned forward and placed a kiss..."

He needed to _calm down_. There were two vastly different sides of Poe Dameron currently at war.

There was his cautionary side, probably whatever essence of humanity there was left, in an absolute panic over something going wrong. And everything could go wrong. After all, this was _blood_. He would be drinking his lover's _blood_. Why would Finn be okay with that? Why wouldn't he hate him when this was over? Not to mention the physical implications of this. Poe had never hurt someone unintentionally during feeding before, but this _would be_ the one time it would happen. He'd seen younglings accidentally hurt people before. He seen them accidentally kill before. He could kill Finn. This was his _lifeblood_ that he was trusting Poe with.

And then there was the other side, the darkness from his glory days most likely. It was vampiric and greedy and lusting and _hungry_. He _wanted_ Finn. He wanted Finn every single way that he could have him. He wanted to claim and to take, and his lover was giving him _permission to do it_. His lover _wanted_ him to take, and Poe wanted _so much_. He wanted to keep him right here, just like this, happy and safe and _his_ forever.

Both sides had some common ground, though. Both were equal parts of Poe, and both loved Finn more than anything. He wanted to do this for (and with and to) Finn, and it had to be _perfect_.

“It's okay if you've got questions,” Poe reassured a little breathlessly, pulling his pillows and blankets into a pile to make a sort of nest on the bed, trying to restrain himself from raiding the linen closet and Snap's bed, too. Then he wondered if what he was doing _wouldn't_ actually be comfortable, so he knocked it all down and started rearranging things again, finding himself just making another nest. “I've got answers. Loads of answers. I'm an open book.”

“On second thought, I do have a question,” Finn spoke up, but it was the hand he placed against the back of Poe's neck that made the vampire stop moving and look at him. His lover gave him a sweet smile and sat down in the half-finished nest. “Are you all right?”

Saying that everything was swell would be a serious lie, but he couldn't tell him the truth about being terrified out of his mind. “I guess I'm a little nervous.”

Finn's smile grew. “Me, too.” Poe must have made a sign that he was about to call the whole thing off, because his love put a hand to the vampire's chest and laughed. “I'm fine! Really. I want this. It's just-” Finn, still smiling, looked away and shrugged. “You've probably done this more than a million times, and I'm not really sure what to do on my end. I just don't want it to be-” His words drifted away, and he looked back to Poe with more of a grimace. “I want to be a _little_ memorable. I want it to be good.” Then Finn's smile was suddenly back as he laughed. “It's like having sex for the first time all over again.”

“Hey.” Poe put a finger beneath Finn's chin and moved him until they were looking at each other again. “All I want is for you to enjoy this. You don't have to do anything.”

The look in Finn's eyes grew less worried again and back to an endearing softness and warmth that never failed to steal Poe's breath away. “I want you to enjoy it, too.”

It was things like that that made him crazy for this man. One second, Poe was staring at him with such ache and love and desire blooming in his chest. The next, they were kissing and about to derail this whole scheme. Poe pulled away enough to catch his breath, his cheek and forehead and lips still brushing against Finn's, and a very damaging truth on the tip of his tongue.

Poe swallowed and left another chaste kiss on Finn's lips before pulling away. “You don't have to worry about that,” he said, breathless again as if this whole thing was going to end up killing him but worth every second of the smile he got in return. Right. Right, okay. They had something to do tonight. “Where did you-? Your arm might be- It's up to you.”

“My neck,” Finn answered with a nearly daring smile. “I want the full experience.”

_Oh_. Oh. Poe swallowed again, trying and failing to look away from Finn's long, strong neck. “Your gills?”

“They'll be fine.” Finn's hand had found Poe's and was holding it securely, thumb tracing tiny patterns against his inner wrist. It was probably supposed to be calming. It felt like several volts of electricity burning through his body. “The slits are more like scaring when I have the amulet on. They're not there. You can't hurt them.”

How long had it been? Thirty years, right? Longer? It seemed so easy before, so natural, like nothing at all. Maybe it still was, maybe that wasn't what was wrong. It had been so long since he cared. Now his vision had narrowed, and nothing else existed except Finn.

He blinked hard, coming back to himself. Getting lost like that might have been okay before, but this needed to be perfect. _Perfect_. And the sight of his fangs, as he could feel them against his lips like a phantom, was probably not what perfect looked like. The last thing he wanted to do was scare Finn.

“I wanna see,” his lover's voice answered his thoughts, plunging Poe back into the here and now. He blinked again and only saw Finn's happy face. “Is that all right?”

“It's just teeth,” Poe found himself saying then looking at anything else in the room. “Just weird looking teeth straight out of an early 2000's edgy teen horror movie.”

“Those are the best cult classics, and you know it,” Finn happily said, apparently checking out the elongated canines. “So far I'm liking the real thing better.”

“Flatterer,” he replied with a warm face, Finn's laugh making him feel that much lighter. “Okay. How do we want to do this?”

“I was going to ask you that.” Instead of actually answering, Finn scooted a little closer and placed his hands against either side Poe's ribs. “This okay?”

Poe reminded himself belatedly to breathe. “It's perfect.” Everything was perfect. He leaned forward, fitting his hand against Finn's jaw and nuzzling against his neck. He took his time, just breathing him in and placing open kisses along his warm skin. Finn was so full of life, so beautiful, brimming and overflowing with joy and happiness. “Are you sure about this?” he asked one last time, voice muffled against his love's neck. “We don't have to. I know there are other things we could get up to.”

But he could hear the smile in Finn's voice and feel a hand weave through his hair. “I'm sure. I'm really sure.”

He was finding it hard to wait any longer, and Finn's eagerness wasn't helping. Poe kissed his way to a spot above the gills, not willing to take a risk, then allowed himself to give in, _give in_ , and _bite_.

* * *

It felt like a shot of adrenaline, a fight or flight panic response constricting him down, and then- then- Finn still couldn't think but he could _breathe_. Then he started to feel warm.

There was a bit of surprise in there once he came back to himself and realized what was going on. He expected to _feel_ the bite, at the very least. There was definitely _something_ there, some connection to Poe, and Finn felt his hands tighten around the other man, not sure if he was going to rip him away or hold him in place. Then he started to feel _really_ warm, and the thought of pushing him off felt blasphemous.

At least this part he had expected.

A moan escaped his lips, something that sounded like Poe's name, and he felt his shoulder and head move aside to give the vampire more room, inviting him to do more, just wanting _more_. Hands helped him drift down to the bed where he could properly arch against the length of Poe's body. He felt like he could catch on fire at any moment, but it was a _good_ fire. It felt so good. It felt-

And just like that, it was over. Poe pulled off to place kisses against his neck, presumably to stop the bleeding but taking the adrenaline with him. The rest stayed, though, and he still felt so _so_ good, but nothing had even come close to peak yet. “ _Don't stop._ ”

There was the breath of a growl against his neck, making Finn shiver from crown to toe, but Poe didn't act on it. “Shouldn't say things like that,” was all the answer he gave before placing one last kiss and leaning up to look down at Finn.

His eyes were red. It was only one of the few thoughts bouncing around Finn's skull. Poe's eyes, the irises, had turned red as if a new light had just awakened somewhere deep inside. And Poe looked beautiful. His skin glowed, his lips were bright, and a drop of blood was at the corner of his mouth.

Finn pulled him closer, but Poe stopped him with a smile, placing their foreheads together instead. “I don't think you'll like the taste of blood, sweetheart.”

But he _wanted_ him. “ _Poe_.”

The vampire leaned forward and placed a kiss on the other side of his neck then down to his collarbone and- There was another soft growl that jolted straight through him before Poe got Finn's offending shirt off. Poe kissed down his chest, lavishing against his nipple in a way that felt great but was doing a number on his patience. At some point through all of this, unsurprisingly, he'd gotten harder than a rock. He wanted so much more, but Poe only pulled away from one nipple to track kisses across his chest on his journey to the next. Finn couldn't find it in himself to make Poe hurry up, though. He wanted it to last forever and get on with the show all at once. It was... a little overwhelming.

So he took a few deep breaths and focused on Poe's soft lips against his ribs, the hands holding him firmly by the hips, fingertips tracing along the patch of scales there.

By the time Finn was becoming more aware of himself, Poe had moved to place kisses on his stomach. He tugged at the vampire's shirt, and Poe quickly leaned up to take it off, tossing it out of his line of sight before taking him in a full body hug. Poe buried his face beneath Finn's chin, against his throat, and Finn squeezed him closer as hard as he could.

“You with me?” Poe asked in a puff of air against the hollow of Finn's throat.

He had to take another deep breath to stay steady. “Yeah. I'm here.” He was feeling more like himself, anyway, but the lust curled into the center of his hips hadn't budged.

Poe kissed his chest again and started making a trail up to Finn's ear. “I didn't expect that reaction.”

He couldn't help but smile at the admission. Did Poe really think that his reaction would be anything except overwhelmingly positive? “I did.” Before Poe could finish his surprised hum, Finn started sucking a kiss into his neck, turning the sound into a lovely groan.

Then Finn's hips _finally_ found friction against Poe's, and the other let out a hiss. “You sure?”

That was laughable, but his lips were too busy against Poe's throat for that. “So sure. Super sure.”

There was another groan as his boyfriend _finally_ pushed back. “I had big plans,” he admitted, one of his hands finding the back of Finn's jeans. “Different plans. Wanted to fuck you or let you fuck me. Take our time.”

“That. Let's do that.”

Poe's laugh brought him back out of the moment again. “Neither of us would last long enough.”

Well... Okay, that was true. “Next time,” he promised.

Poe bucked against him with a low moan, apparently also _really_ looking forward to their next time. Which gave Finn an inkling of an idea...

By the time his hands caught up enough to fumble with Poe's pants, his boyfriend seemed to be trying to do the same to him, except in hard mode by keeping one hand on Finn's ass. The mermaid laughed, the giddy feeling bubbling up almost out of nowhere, and he bucked against him to get a move on.

Predictably, Finn got through Poe's clothes first, making the other whine when he found his prize. If anything, Poe just started working double time and soon had his fist wrapped around Finn's dick, too. The whole thing was messy and uncoordinated, though. Neither of them could stop grinding into each other long enough to get a proper handjob started but neither wanted to let go and just mindlessly rut.

Then Finn remembered his idea and brushed his lips against Poe's ear. “Want you to fuck me, baby,” he breathed, taking the shocked groan as encouragement. “Want to feel you so deep. Want to be good for you. I'd be so tight and warm, feel so good. Want you to bite me as I cum-” Poe's near shout of ecstasy was right in Finn's ear, but he was so proud of himself that he didn't care. The feeling of Poe's dick giving an almighty jerk in his hand, the sharp thrust of Poe's hips, and the warmth spilling over his torso and chest practically kicked him over the edge, his orgasm slamming into him with a force that was almost painful.

He was shaking by the time they stopped, then everything was silent.

* * *

Poe groaned in the back of his throat and stretched his fingers and toes, hands and feet, before wrapping a little tighter around his love. The mess between them was ignored for now.

That was- Well, that was beyond perfect. But it was perfect _for him_. Finn certainly seemed to enjoy it, especially by getting so into the high of it like that. He even talked like he wanted to do it again, but was that just dirty talk reserved for those moments or did he mean it?

Anxiety was starting to creep into Poe's awareness, and he hated it. Why couldn't he just enjoy one moment with Finn without questioning every detail? Or maybe what made those moments so great was because he questioned them and tried so hard to make them better for next time.

_Next_ time. It was a thrilling thought. Every single time Finn offered anything – his attention, his time, his pleasure, his blood – Poe couldn't describe how thankful he was. Every fleeting moment with him was a gift.

A hand drifted through his hair, and Poe smiled. “Didn't realize how good you were at talking like that.”

“Neither did I,” Finn chuckled. “I think we found my latent superpower.”

Poe snorted a laugh, surprised by the image _that_ brought on, before looking up at him. Finn was beautiful, especially like this. Happy, sated, a little wrecked. Poe could stare at him for another century and never get tired of it.

Finn's finger traced the top of his cheek as he stared back. “Your eyes...” His voice trailed away, lost in thought or something else.

It took a moment of bliss before Poe realized, with a shock of horror, what Finn had meant. He jammed his eyes closed and hid against his love's shoulder, willing the terrifying red hue to go away. He had forgotten about it _somehow_ over the last few decades. It worked wonders on hunts, putting fear into prey, but this _wasn't_ a hunt, Finn was _not_ prey, and Poe hadn't been this disgusted with himself since the last time he participated in a rich man's war. It was something about blood, something about soothing that side of himself, and he _thought he was over this_.

“Poe.” Finn's hand was against his cheek, guiding him back up.

“I forgot,” Poe muttered in apology, his eyes opening in narrow slits only because Finn wanted them to be.

His lover rolled on to his side until they were facing each other, still looking blissed out, happy, and- “It's beautiful,” he said, placing a kiss beneath Poe's eye then moving down his cheek and ear until they were holding each other again. “You're beautiful.”

_I love you_. Poe bit his lip to keep from saying it.

Finn squeezed him again as if knowing about and trying to chase away those harsh feelings that plagued him night and day. “We should take a shower,” he suggested suddenly. “We're both filthy, your sheets aren't getting any cleaner, and I would be very happy if you washed your mouth out and let me kiss you again. Which isn't a requirement on my part for kissing, by the way. I'm just saying.”

It was literally as if every second of Finn's existence was spent trying to pull those same three words out of Poe's soul. But he took a deep breath, and couldn't help a smile even if he was about to start crying, not sure if it was because of longing or euphoria. “A shower,” he said once he had himself under control once more. “Yeah. I'd love that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there it is! I'm sorry the bite itself was so short-lived, but you'll have more in the future. It wasn't just dirty talk, Poe. Anyway, I hope it was all right.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! Another big thing you guys have been asking for will be in the next chapter. ♥


	24. Chapter 24

When Finn had suggested taking a shower with Poe, he had a variety of lecherous intentions in mind, but things didn't exactly go in that direction. Somehow, he was pretty sure he enjoyed the reality more.

Their bathing could be described as a thorough rinse for all the work they put into it. Instead, Poe kept Finn against the wall as the mermaid tried in vain to stop smiling long enough to kiss him back. But Poe's kisses were everywhere, traveling from his lips to cheek to forehead to nose to neck to ear to lips- It made him feel warm. It made him feel loved.

Finn giggled against the affections, leaning in to steal a quick kiss of his own when he caught Poe going from point A to point B. “Not that I'm complaining, but I'm pretty curious about your goal here.”

“My goal,” his boyfriend answered, pausing for a kiss next to Finn's eye, “is to keep you smiling as long as possible.” Another pause to kiss on the other side of his nose. “Trying to set a record here.”

“I think you're doing a good job of it,” he laughed then yelped when Poe found a spot beneath his chin. “Tickles!”

“I'll remember that,” the vampire answered with a mischevious grin. “What do you think about wrapping a quilt around us, finishing off the cake, and watching some mediocre TV?”

Finn hummed, pretending to be thinking about the offer but falling short since his smile was still there. “That _almost_ sounds perfect, but do I have to forfeit the kissing?”

“Not unless you make me stop.”

“Never.”

Poe laughed with him, tucking their heads together to forego the kisses for a moment. “Need help drying off?”

“Maybe,” he teased back as his boyfriend cut the warm water off. With Poe's head turned away, Finn took the opportunity to place kisses up and down his exposed neck. “Will I get to return the favor?”

“Maybe.” Poe roved his hands up Finn's sides, over his back, before gently pulling away to step out of the tub. “You are a mermaid, though. Think I'd be more of an expert on how to stay dry.”

Finn followed him out, happily dripping all over the floor. “That's a good p-” A towel was thrown over his head, cutting him off for another laughing fit. “There might be a little more to it than that.”

“I thought I was the expert here,” Poe said with a smile, draping another towel over his own head. He chuckled at whatever face Finn was making and pulled them closer together. Finn used the opportunity to run his hands over Poe's wet hair in a sorry excuse to dry him off, too. “Serious question,” the vampire began, making Finn pause a second. “You think we're being _too_ sappy?”

“Oh, absolutely,” he answered, reveling in the laugh he got in response, “but it's nice, isn't it? Maybe it won't always be like this, so we should enjoy it now, right?”

Poe paused and started giving him that _look_ again. The look where his eyes shined and smile went soft. “Some of the things you say, sweetheart,” he spoke in a low, husky voice. “I half wonder if you even know it.”

He thought his point was reasonable? “Wait. What did I say this time?”

Poe laughed again, kissed him, and never answered the question.

* * *

_Always_.

The vampire was on a cloud he hadn't seen in a long time and was faintly sure didn't even exist for the last century and a half, at least.

He dragged a heavy quilt from the linen closet to the couch and wrapped Finn in it with an undoubtedly dopey smile that only got worse when his love wrapped him in the quilt, too. It was probably going to be way too warm soon with both of their body heats, but there was not a force in the world that could make him care. He just happily watched Finn eat what was left of the already small cake, taking bites when his love offered to feed him.

_Maybe it won't always be like this._

Finn was thinking of them as long-term. Finn wanted _always_.

Or- Poe glanced down, feeling his heart follow. Or maybe he _didn't_ want long-term. Maybe the _it_ wasn't their giddy honeymoon phase but the relationship entirely. And what did _this_ mean? Context said it meant their sappy teasing, but what if it was more than that?

“Last bite.”

Poe was brought out of his increasingly depressing thoughts to see a spoonful of cake and Finn's wondrous smile. He returned it, the impulse impossible to control. “You have it.”

His lover's smile ticked up along the edges. “You made the cake.”

“I made it for you.” Finn looked surprised for a moment like he either didn't realize that fact or just remembered it, and Poe leaned forward to kiss him behind the ear for making his heart constrict again.

He also made the point to put his spiraling thoughts away for later. This wasn't the time for his self-depreciation party. Finn deserved more than someone stuck in their own head the entire time. Instead, he waited until Finn put the spoon back on their empty plate before tucking him in a little tighter and pulling him closer. By the time Poe turned on the TV and found something to watch, he was on his back with Finn mostly on top of him, not unlike the night in the hammock.

“Is that the Match Game?”

“It kinda fits,” Poe said with a smile. “It's weird, funny, and old, just like me.” He earned a swat on the arm for his efforts.

“ _And_ I like it,” Finn continued the joke, making Poe's hold just a little tighter. “Can I ask you something? Something potentially uncomfortable?”

“Always.” As if he ever wanted Finn to be afraid to ask him for or about anything.

His love watched the game show for a minute before turning his head to rest his chin on Poe's chest. “How old?”

He knew how old, but Poe smiled anyway. “I'm assuming my age isn't a deal breaker at this point.” When the serious look left Finn's eyes, being replaced with that sweet smile again, he answered. “I was born in 1817.”

Admittedly, he was worried about putting a date on it, afraid that would make their differences seem all the more real. They _were_ too different, weren't they? But Finn just got a new sparkle in his eye and a delighted smile. “Where?”

“Guatemala,” he found himself easily saying. “I stayed there until a little while after I turned. Been back a few times but nothing's quite the same anymore.”

Finn wiggled a little against him, settling in with wide eyes and rapt attention. It was adorable. “What was it like?”

There was a joke about flying cars that Poe had to swallow. “About what you'd expect, I guess. Hot. Hard to make ends meet. Then there was the whole Civil War thing. And around the time I figured out why I wasn't attracted to women, suddenly all the women decided they were attracted to me, so that was a little annoying.”

His love's smile grew, a fondness in his stare. “When did you turn?”

Ah. That was less than a happy story. “1849,” he answered easily enough. “I was 32 when it happened. It was rough for a while. _I_ was rough. There were all these stories about demons and everything, and I had no idea what I was. My- The guy that turned me, he was no help. He didn't know or care. After he... was gone, I decided to find out, so I started traveling. Left the country, then the continent, then the hemisphere-... Sorry, I'm rambling.”

“I like it when you ramble,” Finn quickly amended, still looking very into this. “How did you find out? How long did it take?”

Poe laughed and just kept going. “Took nearly 20 years, if I remember right. I had met others like me, but the ones that knew anything had different names for it and different definitions. Most of the time, things just didn't add up right. I don't even think half of them were vampires, to be honest. It wasn't until I was in Barcelona when I met Dario that I put a lot of it together.”

“Who was he?” his love asked. If Poe thought he had to worry about jealousy, it was clear that Finn either didn't put the piece together or didn't care.

Not he and Dario had been all that close, Poe reflected. “A vampire several hundred years older than I was at the time. We met Holdo looking for answers not long after and we made a coven together. It lasted for decades, but someone eventually rose a coup, Dario died, and I left with Holdo.”

Finn was quiet for a second, no doubt remembering the run-in with the same woman not too long ago. “You two were friends?” he asked, curious and maybe a little skeptical.

Not that there was much to tell. Amilyn had always been the same. Poe shrugged. “More like... companions, I guess. Or like family in the way that we didn't like each other but we were sort of stuck together anyway. It wasn't so bad. There wasn't even much bad blood between us until the second World War. We ended up calling a kind of-...” He waved his hand beneath the blanket, trying to figure out what would be the right term for _that_. “Truce. We called a truce sometime later in the `60's. I guess she thinks that means we're peachy again. I don't know.” He seldom knew what went on in her mind.

Finn was quiet again, blinking at him, considering. “What did she _do_?”

Poe smiled at his curiosity. “The government decided to enlist people like us into service after the Great War, and a bunch of us got together and made a sort of temporary coven. Holdo decided to throw her own coup near the end of the second war. Went about as well as you'd expect.” And he didn't want to elaborate on that in present company.

“Why would she do that?”

“Power?” Poe shrugged. She wanted a challenge maybe? “I have no idea. It's not unheard of, though. A lot of people being stuck together for too long, someone's bound to start something. It was just so stupid, because we were only a few years in. I never asked. Didn't really care, to be honest.” He trailed off, his fingers making designs in his love's back while he watched Finn think that answer through. “Any other questions?”

“Millions,” Finn quickly answered, making Poe snort again. “When did you start fighting in wars? How did you even get through signing up and boot camp? What was the last war you were involved in? Do you get veteran benefits? At what point did you meet Leia? Why did it take at least 15 years for you and Holdo to smooth things over? Do you remember the moon landing? What was-”

Poe kissed him quiet with a big smile. “When the Great War broke out. I didn't. Vietnam. Yes. In the late 1800s. Because she couldn't find me. And yes again.”

Finn blinked at him. “I'm babbling.”

“I like it when you babble,” he laughed back. His love groaned and hid his face in Poe's chest, leaving the vampire to kiss him on top of his still damp curls. “I don't mind answering your questions. You know that.”

His lover's beautiful eyes peeked up at him. “Why couldn't she find you?”

The memory stung, but he tried to not let it show. “I went to Japan for a while. Guess she thought I only stuck to the west.” His hands roved up and down Finn's sides, feeling the graze of scales beneath the thin shirt Poe had loaned him. “You know, when NASA started to do the whole Gemini and Apollo thing, I thought they were insane. People on the moon. It was crazy. But they did it and then they did it again and again and again. It sort of... inspired me that we could do whatever we wanted. So I left the war effort in Vietnam, reconnected with Leia, and we traveled the world together for a time. She settled down to start a family, then she found some of _my_ family, and now we're both here. So, technically, we should be thanking space flight for this.”

Finn huffed a laugh and settled in to look towards the TV. His eyes were closed, though, so Poe reached over to turn the volume lower. “You think Holdo will come back?”

“Yeah,” he sighed, rubbing his hands against his love's back again, “but not for a long time, I think. She won't bother you again, sweetheart.”

“Not worried about me,” he sighed into Poe's aching chest. “ _Hún minnir mig heimili_.”

Poe paused. “I don't know Icelandic.”

“Didn't think so,” Finn smiled against him.

“Wanna go to bed?”

“Do I have to walk there?” Poe sat up to carry him, but Finn sputtered a laugh. “Wait, I'll walk! I'll walk!”

* * *

Once again, Finn woke up to the sight of seashells sitting on Poe's bedside table. They looked spotless and set away from everything else as if they had their own special place. It warmed Finn's heart to know Poe liked them so much, but he still wanted to give something that was a little more worthy of his affection.

Finn pushed the thoughts away for another time when he can actually do something about it, and rolled over until he could see Poe. The vampire had an arm wrapped around Finn's waist but was mostly just pressed against the bed, gently snoring, hair in his face, looking like he was resting better than the last few times they spent the night together. Finn tried to move his hair back in place, wondering if his eyes still had that hint of red in them like the night before.

But now it was morning, and he certainly didn't want to wake Poe up to find out. He gently, reluctantly, removed the arm around him, wondering if he should wake Poe to tell him he was leaving. He didn't want to leave, and there was no work to be had, but he almost felt imposing now.

Why was he so worried about this? When did he start getting worried?

Finn grimaced, knowing those answers all too well. Instead of getting up, he rolled on to his side to face Poe head on. “Hey,” he whispered, testing the waters. His boyfriend didn't stir, so he decided to practice. “I love you.” He gave it a second, watching Poe's sleeping face, and cringed. “Too clingy?”

A sound from the kitchen startled him out of the failing practice run. To be perfectly honest, he was kind of happy about a distraction. Finn took one more look at Poe, who still hadn't stirred, and quietly got out of bed, tucking his warm blankets closer to his boyfriend for good measure. Assuming the noise was from Snap, he headed for the kitchen.

He was already halfway there before thoughts of Holdo reappearing made him a little antsy, but the greying man standing beside the open refrigerator with a forkful of tiramisu halfway to his mouth was definitely not Holdo. The two stared at each other for a beat, both a little shocked that the other looked shocked.

“Who are you?” they both said as one. “I asked you first.”

Finn scowled. “I'm pretty sure that cake's not for you.”

“Well, there's no beer in there,” the man answered, waving at the fridge with his fork. “What am I supposed to grab?”

Uh. “Nothing? Who are you? How did you get in here?”

“Is the cake for you?”

“No?”

“All righty, then,” he huffed and took a bite, staring at Finn with a dare in his eyes.

“Who's-?” Poe's voice startled both of them as the vampire walked into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. When he saw the older man, he groaned. “Ah, crap.”

Finn and the man glared back at each other. “You woke him up!”

Poe gave a long sigh, dropping his arms to his sides. “It's all right. Han, this is my boyfriend. Finn, this-” He was cut off by the older man's sudden laughter. “This is Leia's husband.”

The ghost? Han Solo?

By the time Finn looked back to him, Han cleared his throat and stopped laughing. “You're serious. Explains the flowers, I guess.” Finn's new glare went ignored as the older man pointed at the cake with his fork. “Who's this for?”

“Snap or Leia,” Poe answered.

Han frowned at the cake. “Can it be for Snap?”

“No.”

“Dammit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't forget about Han! Anyway, a little bit more insight about Poe's past. I hope it answers more questions than it makes, lol. And don't worry about the lack of Finn's past. His stuff is going to become pretty relevant whenever I find my way back to that plotline.
> 
> Thanks for reading! I'm sorry this chapter lacked some action.


	25. Chapter 25

Poe had been in a sour mood ever since Han showed up in his kitchen that morning. Well, maybe not _ever since_. Keeping a mood like that up around Finn seemed to be impossible, but only if his love wasn't agitated, too. Once they had kissed each other goodbye and gone their separate ways, though, Poe had made his displeasure known by stomping back to bed while Han watched one of Snap's recorded games on their TV.

He hadn't so much as looked at Han since other than the occasional glare, but the ghost seemed to know when not to push a vampire, anyway. Unfortunately, he seemed to feel much safer under Leia's roof. “A mermaid, huh?” Poe shot him a glare over his fifth cup of tea as Han nonchalantly chewed on a biscuit. “How'd you two meet, anyway?”

“Don't pry,” Leia chastised on the other side of the small table. She seemed pleased when Poe delivered both her husband and a slightly eaten tiramisu, but inviting him to tea while he watched Han eat more of Finn's cake didn't seem like a great reward.

They were outside, the same place Poe had awkwardly come up with his dinner menu. Han being half translucent in the moonlight didn't stop Poe from trying to stare a hole through him.

The ghost really was the okay sort. Really. He just. Sometimes. _Ugh_.

Han huffed. “How am I supposed to know if I don't ask?” he argued, going around the point entirely as was his natural talent. “I'm so out of the loop these days.”

Leia hid a smile behind her cup. “It's because you don't visit.”

“I visit! I visited him just this morning.”

Poe looked up at the stars and mumbled, “I think she meant something else.”

“Look, Dracula,” Han groaned, tossing his biscuit down with a look that rivaled Poe's. “Had I known you had company, I wouldn't have popped in and helped myself. I'm just glad the kid didn't come at me with a bat or something.”

“He's not a k-”

“ _In my defense_ ,” the other continued over him, “I never in my wildest dreams would have expected you to have company. Especially not _that_ kind of company. Seriously, cradle snatcher, how long have you been back in the game?”

“ _He's not a-_ ”

“Gentlemen,” Leia sighed, tea on the table and fingers rubbing her eyes, “when I said this would be just like the old days, I didn't mean _literally_.”

Poe tugged the teapot closer and poured up his sixth cup, desperately hoping it would magically turn into whiskey. “He's not a kid,” he finally muttered, quickly gulping half of the cup like a shot. God, he hated tea.

“Sure,” Han said, scratching idly at his stubble, “but how'd you meet?”

Prepared to not live this one down, Poe rolled his eyes. “Jess signed me up for some dating thing on my phone, and Finn matched us before I could figure out how to delete it.” That's at least half of the truth. He ignored Leia's raised and disapproving eyebrow.

Han snorted and cleared his throat, visibly trying to keep a straight face. “A dating site,” he said with a cough. “You met on a dating site.”

“Yes. Ha ha. Ha ha ha.” Poe glared down at the stupid teacup and tried to figure a way out of this. “It's not a big deal, so can we just drop it? It's all Jess' fault anyway.”

“Not a big deal,” Han repeated slowly. “Not. A big deal. You. Dating. Not a big deal.” Poe shot him another glare, trying and failing to warn him away from this topic. “The last time you dated _anyone_ was when I was about two. And now I'm dead.”

“Han-”

“I wasn't _dating_ back then,” Poe bit out, “and I'm not _dating_ now. We're just having fun. That's all.” He picked up one of the tiny spoons and furiously stirred his tea, feeling trapped and hurt and pissed, but thankful for the ensuing silence at the table.

Unfortunately, the silence wasn't long lived before the ghost just had to add, “You wouldn't know fun if it socked you in the jaw.”

Poe slammed the cup down on the table, not entirely surprised that Leia's dishes seemed unable to be broken. “I _do_ know fun. Finn's fun.”

“And that's why you're dating him,” Han droned on. “Because he's fun. No other reason.”

“I don't _need_ another reason,” he snapped back. “He's fun. That's it. That's where it ends. And we're not _dating_.”

“Poe-”

Han barked a sarcastic laugh. “Maybe someone should tell _him_ that, then. You realize how that kid looks at you?”

“He's not a- He doesn't-” Okay, implying that _Finn_ felt like that was going way too far. “He knows where we stand. He knows it's nothing. I was about to break things off with him, anyway, so don't think you can just strut back here and-”

“Poe, _sit down_ ,” Leia barked. “Han, whatever you're about to say, shove it.”

“I was just gonna-”

“ _Shove it_. Poe, sit.”

He didn't really know when he stood up. One second he was tolerating Han's lack of a brain-to-mouth filter, the next he was contemplating how to break up with Finn. It was because they were actually talking about it, he knew. It was because the people who knew him best realized how much it meant, that he had moved on, that he was trying again. It was because he realized the same about himself not so long ago. He couldn't lose Finn. And that was so _so_ dangerous.

What the fuck had he been thinking?

“No, you know what, I have some stuff to think about.”

“Oh, come off it,” Leia groaned, rolling her eyes. “You're just saying things you'll regret later. You and I both know there's nothing to think about. Or you _will_ know just as soon as you crawl out of your own mind and come back to reality.”

He sneered back at her. “And what great wisdom does reality have in store for me today, dear Leia?”

She narrowed her eyes. “That Finn's-”

“You're in love with him.”

Poe threw his teacup at Han but didn't wait around long enough to watch it sail right through him.

* * *

“I feel like I should do something big, y'know? Or, at the very least, do _something_. It's like Poe's always doing the sweet romantic stuff. He made a _cake_ for me. A whole cake. Just because. And I've got nothing over here. I want to tell him so bad, but I can't judge the timing for the life of me. I've never been in this position before, man. Is it too soon? How soon is too soon? What do I do if he doesn't feel the same way? What will _he_ do? Will he think I'm creepy? Will he want to break up? I don't want to be clingy and I'm totally being clingy right now. I don't even know why he's putting up with it. He's humoring me, and I wish he'd just stop. Or- Or- Or just tell me what it is he expects from a partner. He's been through this rose-tinted glasses crap before. I feel like I'm not serious enough or worldly enough or- or- What if I tell him and he just _laughs_ at me?”

“Excuse me,” Lloyd interrupted. “Am I the only moron here trying to plant already cut flowers in the middle of the night?”

“It's a _cutting garden_ ,” Finn grumbled, putting himself back in gear. He had reluctantly decided that morning that the flowers would never make the journey back home and he didn't want to risk losing some by wrapping them in bags, so he grabbed up Lloyd at the docks to help him plant the flowers near the cove. Google said it might work, and all of the flowers looked like the pictures, so maybe. He'd just keep an eye on them.

But when he finally set to work to get his hands dirty, digging into the fertilized spot they set up beside the rocky outcropping, Lloyd seemed to pause. “What is even wrong with you lately? First, you're worried about seashells, now you're worried about the three little words.”

“They're not little,” he replied. “Don't listen to all those sappy songs. They are definitely not little.”

“Right,” Lloyd sighed. “Anyway, why don't you just, I don't know, tell him?”

Finn froze. Tell him? _Just_ tell him? “Oh, gee, man. Why didn't I think of that? Maybe it's because _everything I've been talking about for the last hour_.”

“Babbled,” his friend corrected. “Rambled. You sound like you've got dementia, to be honest.”

Finn threw a handful of dirt in the air. “I can't just _tell him_. What if he laughs?”

“Then he's an asshole.”

“What if he wants to break up?”

“Maybe you should try communicating with _him_ if you're really-”

“What if I haven't done enough? What if he doesn't believe me? What if he thinks I'm not good enough?”

“Wait, wait-” Lloyd shook his head, eyes closed and hands waving in the air. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Finn sniffled, not realizing he had been on the verge of bursting into tears. “What?”

When his friend looked at him, there was anger in his eyes that Finn hadn't seen from the other mermaid before. “What the _hell_ is _wrong_ with you? Who even _are you_ right now? What the hell are you talking about?”

“What?”

Lloyd flapped his arms around, face turning a slight shade of red. “You are literally the most social guy, the most _self-confident_ guy I know, and you're acting _like this_? What did this vampire even _do_ to you? Why are you second guessing _everything_? If you feel something, then follow your gut and just _do it_!”

Finn blinked up at him. “What?”

Lloyd screamed at the sky, plenty loud enough for people on the pier to hear. Then he looked back to him and yelled, “Do you love him!?”

Finn nodded.

“Do you want to tell him that you love him!?”

He kept nodding.

“Then! _Tell him!_ ” Finn opened his mouth to argue, but Lloyd pointed a finger at him. “No! I don't want your excuses! You're just going to roll around in a damn pity party until you finally get it over with, so save both of your asses the trouble and just _get it over with_!”

They stared at each other for a moment, Finn in shock and Lloyd raggedly breathing like he just swam the Atlantic. But-... Holy shit. “You're right.” Lloyd threw his hands up in the air again. “I can't believe you're right.”

“Of course, I'm right.”

Finn turned to the flowers they'd already planted, remembering Poe holding him in the kitchen while they made dinner. He wouldn't laugh. He might even feel something similar. If not, well, it didn't seem to be a deal breaker. Finn took a deep breath. “I need to tell him.”

“Right. Yes. Thank you.”

“ _How_ do I tell him?”

Lloyd groaned again. “Just do it. Just say it. Say it right now. One, two, three, go!”

Oh. Uh. Um. Okay. “I love you?”

“A little less confusion. Go again.”

Finn shifted in the sand and took a deep breath. “I love you.”

“Maybe don't be terrified either. One more time.”

Right. Okay. He took another deep breath and tried to look as serious as possible. “Poe, I love you.”

“If you could do it without looking pissed off, that'd be great. Again.”

Now it was Finn's turn to groan at the sky. He put both hands over his eyes in defeat. “I'm messing it up! I don't know what to do!”

“Just do it like a normal person. Okay, watch me. You watching?” Finn dropped his hands to look at Lloyd. “I love you.”

He grimaced. “I don't believe you.”

“You're not-!” The other mermaid clawed his fingernails over his scalp. “I don't love _you_! You're not supposed to believe me! He is! … Believe _you_! He's supposed to believe you! Shit!”

Somehow, this still seemed pretty complicated. Finn let out a massive sigh and flopped down on the sand. The lights of the pier and boardwalk filtered out most of the stars from here, but he could still see the moon hanging high above. “I love you,” he tried again, but that didn't feel good enough. “I'm in love with you.” Was that too much? “Poe, I-” He wasn't doing it right. He was going to ruin it.

“Stop freaking out, just say it, and you'll be fine,” was the advice he got for his poor efforts.

Way easier said than done. Finn blew out a held breath until his lungs hurt. “When?”

“Next time you see him.”

Crap. “I can't.”

“You will,” Lloyd said, still messing with the flowers. “Keep practicing. Pretend I'm a pretty vampire.”

“You're not a pretty vampire.”

“If that was a love confession, it was really shitty. Again.”

* * *

He couldn't do it.

Poe was sitting on a park bench, had been sitting there for the last hour or so since walking out of Leia's home, and just staring down at his phone. It wasn't like he was going to send a breakup text or something. He had enough dignity to do this in person. But he couldn't. He couldn't ask Finn to meet with him with that motive. He couldn't bring himself to start the domino effect. He couldn't do it.

Leia sat beside him on the bench. “You're an idiot.”

He didn't bother to look up from the phone. “Did the tea come out of your chair okay?”

“Oh, yes. Thankfully, I have cleaning abilities few possess,” she said, voice dripping in sarcasm. “For future reference, never act so uncivilized on my properties again.”

“I won't. I'm sorry.”

“Han's not.”

“I'm not sorry about _Han_. I'm sorry about the damn chair.”

He could _hear_ her eyes roll. “Anyway,” she continued, “I thought I'd catch you before you did something you'd regret for the rest of your very long life.”

Poe's shoulders sagged, and he dropped the phone a short distance to the ground. “I can't do it, anyway.”

“Good,” she said, also visibly relaxing and leaning back against the bench. “Before you so rudely threw my dishes at my late husband, I was going to say that Finn's the best thing that's ever happened to you.” When Poe didn't react, she kept going. “It's not some whirlwind romance. It's not built during desperate times or out of being the only two people left. It's not fake or disjointed or a power move. It's real and good, and you deserve this, Dameron.”

And he wanted it, too. “But it's not, is it? It's going to end in tragedy one way or another, just like all the ones before.”

“The best way to make relationships work is to _talk_ , Poe. There's a clear answer here, and I'm not going to be the one to give it to you,” she huffed. “Besides, he has something to tell you, anyway.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Without saying what, as was her way, Leia stood and brushed off her dress. “And Dameron?” she prompted, looking at him again to make sure they made eye contact. “You're the best thing to happen to him, too. Don't you dare break that sweet man's heart just because you're scared.”

By the time Poe thought of a reply, he was alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little splash of drama in there. Thank you for reading, as always!


	26. Chapter 26

“Finn.”

Surprised, he slowed his walk to the restaurant and looked around. There were plenty of people out during the late hour, but the police car parked a few paces behind him kind of gave the mystery away. Finn sighed deeply and retraced his steps, bending down enough to see the annoyed guy in the driver's seat. “Hi, Ben.”

The other man didn't look amused, as usual, but he wasn't on the cusp of a tantrum yet either. “When's the last time you've seen Poe?”

Finn grimaced. He would really like to stay out of this weird grudge between them if he could help it. “The end of last week. Why?”

“Where are you going?” Ben asked, glancing at a group of teenagers passing on the sidewalk.

The mermaid just kept his tired stare. “I'm meeting Poe for dinner. Why?”

“Have you spoken with him between now and then?”

Seriously? He rolled his eyes. “No, he told me he wanted to eat tonight via carrier pigeon.”

That earned a glare. “Don't get smart,” Ben spat out. “I'm trying to be professional here.”

“Does it hurt?”

“Look-” Ben _nearly_ started pointing his finger around but huffed instead as if the effort wasn't worth it. Which, duh. “Has he mentioned that woman at all?”

“Woman?” He'd have to be a little more specific. But Finn quickly thought through who Ben could possibly be worried about before dread struck. “You mean Holdo?”

“Did he say anything about her?”

“No,” he answered quickly. Surely, Leia and Poe would know if something was going on, right? Would they even tell Finn something like that? Poe... probably wouldn't, actually. “Do you think she's back?”

Ben growled in his throat and looked at the windshield. “I don't know.”

Um... “Well, what made you worried about her?”

“I don't _know_ ,” he snapped again. “It's just a hunch.”

“A hunch.” And he had gotten worried. “Right. Well. I gotta go meet my boyfriend now.”

“This is serious,” Ben began, that hint of rage back in his eyes as he nearly leaned out of the window. “That woman is centuries worth of trouble and so is Poe. You shouldn't trust either of them, much less _date_ one. Do you have any idea how old he is? What he's seen? What he's seen _with her_?”

“Okay. Okay.” Finn held up his hands, figuring this cop _really_ needed to see a doctor about his blood pressure. “Man, seriously, you've known Poe all your life. What do you have against him? Other than the thing.”

“We don't _mention_ the _thing!_ ”

“Sorry! Sorry.”

Ben just growled and rolled his eyes. “He's dangerous. We're all meat to him. Mark my words, Finn, sooner or later he's going to bite you. Then you'll know.”

Apparently, this was the dramatic pause. The cop said nothing while Finn stared at him for what felt like twenty solid minutes. “Anyway,” the mermaid finally said, “I should go.”

“He did it already, didn't he?”

“That's none of your-”

“Why does _no one_ in this town _listen-_ ”

“Ben, I'm leaving now!” It was the only thing he could say that wasn't, _because you're a paranoid asshole._

He was several feet away from the parked car when Ben yelled after him. “Ask him about that woman!” the cop shouted. “You'll see!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Finn said beneath his breath and took a random turn to get away.

* * *

Poe knew that his smoking habit was a turn-off. It smelled, for one. He had hung it up when he and Finn started actually dating. Over the last week, he had taken back to it like a freight train, stopping again a few days ago under the guise that he'll just go crazy otherwise. It wasn't like smoking was _helping_ his nerves. It just completed the whole middle-aged, wine-drunk, absolutely-overwhelmed-with-love-and-lust-and-fear aesthetic.

Long story short, he'd stopped the smoking again, grateful to his vampirism for cutting out most addictions. Except for the flowing red one. Right now, sitting in the cozy restaurant waiting for Finn to show, he really wished he hadn't stopped smoking.

His leg was bouncing repeatedly, shaking the whole table. His hands, when not twisted together like an elaborate bread twist, were fiddling with the condiments. Where was Finn going to sit? Beside or across from him in the booth? What would he likely reach for first and how could it be closer to where he was sitting? Did he put pepper or salt on his food? Why hadn't Poe noticed? What if he wanted the sugar for something? Why was the ketchup bottle half full? Who doesn't fill the ketchup bottles after every shift?

He moved the pepper across from him, figuring that Finn might want the added taste. After staring at the display, he moved the salt, not wanting to assume what Finn did or didn't like. But he might not like salt, so he moved the pepper back. Where should the ketchup go? Between, in front, behind? He moved the salt back.

“Sir?” Poe jumped, catching the pepper shaker before it flew across the room, and looked up to the waitress. “You want a refill?”

“I'm fine, thanks.”

The waitress gave a tight, almost pitying smile and walked away.

Poe hung his head. He was less nervous when he was collecting everything for their sushi night. This time, they had to talk. Like _really_ talk. But he didn't know how. And what if Finn found he was taking this relationship too seriously? What if he _did_ want to break up? What if he thought it was for the best? Maybe it was. But, _fuck_ , Poe didn't want to let go. He wanted to hold on for dear life and never let go and, _wow_ , that was not good. He rubbed hard at his eyes. “I'm so screwed.”

As he sighed and dragged a hand down his face, Poe spotted Finn entering the restaurant. “ _Shi-_ ” He quickly moved the pepper back and tucked his hands under his legs just in time to get spotted himself.

When Finn eyed him across the room, his eyes lit up and his smile became near blinding.

Some of Poe's anxiety flitted away, feeling rather silly about it now, but he also _really_ didn't want to screw this up. He could not express in any words he knew how dearly he did not want to screw this up. Yet, he was standing before he could really consider the move and met Finn with a hug a few steps from the table.

Who could blame him, honestly? It wasn't like he could help it.

“Hey,” Finn said, pulling away to grace him with that gorgeous smile.

“Hey,” Poe answered like a complete dope.

His boyfriend, his love, pecked a kiss on his lips. A bubble of giggles welled up in him at the simple act, cheeks aching from his smile. “I missed you,” Finn said and even looked like he meant it.

“I missed you, too,” Poe sighed, realizing belatedly that it was the truth. Over freaking out about what their meeting was about, he never allowed himself to look forward to it. Again. Really had to work on that.

His love grinned at him before taking a look at their booth. “Do you mind if we go full sap? I get it if you don't want to with people around.”

Full sap? Oh! “Yes!” Poe yelled, taking Finn's hand and dragging him back to the table. “I mean, no. I mean-” Poe sat heavily. “Wanna sit here?”

“Yes,” Finn laughed, the most beautiful sound in the world – had he mentioned that? – and sat next to him.

Poe snaked his arm around Finn's waist and realized he didn't want to bring up any of those serious topics he had meant to. If they could just stop time and stay like this for good, he was fine with that. But that was a pretty short dream and was immediately interrupted by the waitress coming back and taking their order.

Once she walked away, Finn squeezed his knee with a small smile. “Sorry, I'm late. I ran into Ben on the way here.”

Ben? Poe's giddiness drained, being replaced by annoyance and a tinge of preemptive anger. “What did he want?”

“He-” Finn paused, looking over the table with the one drink and half-assed arranged condiments. “He's not exactly sounding sane, I'll say that. He was wondering about Holdo?”

What? Why didn't _Poe_ know that? “Holdo? Why?”

“Said he _had a hunch_.” Finn shrugged. “He was wondering if you knew anything. He's getting really paranoid about her.”

Wow... Just fucking wow. Poe squeezed Finn a little closer and tried to not let his anger bleed out into the here and now. Instead, he took a deep breath and only grimaced. “I haven't heard anything about Holdo, but I'll talk to him.”

Finn frowned back. “Might just want to let this one sit. I don't want you two getting into it.”

“We won't,” he lied. He _hated_ lying to Finn. “It'll be okay. Don't worry about it. Holdo's not causing trouble, anyway, so it'll be nothing.” He kissed his love on the forehead and hoped that would be enough of that. “So, what else have you been doing during our week apart?”

His love smiled, seemingly happy with the change in topic. “Working. Nothing very exciting. Lloyd and I did plant your flowers, though.”

What? “You _planted_ them?”

“And they're doing great. All of them.” The smile Finn gave him was one of beaming delight and pride, so happy with his success in gardening. Poe wanted to see that smile every day. Every _hour_. “Lloyd thought it wouldn't work, but I did some homework first. We planted them near the ridge close to the boardwalk. By the cove, you remember?”

He could live another 500 years and never forget that cove. “I remember.”

“I'll have to bring you back and show you sometime,” Finn said with a grin, moving his hand from Poe's knee to his inner thigh and resting his head against Poe's shoulder, looking for all the world like he could sleep right there. “Maybe it can be our little spot or something, you know? Get more plants, make it bigger. What do you think?”

Finn never failed to make him feel as if his heart could burst. How did he get to this point? What did he do to deserve moments like these? To deserve even a drop of Finn's attention? He nosed against his love's hair and just tried to breathe through the moment. “I think that sounds beautiful.”

His love gave a happy hum, making him smile. “And what have you been up to?”

Reciting speeches in a mirror. Love confessions, break up monologues, soliloquies about the past. Explanations of how they would never work. Theories of how they could make it work. Pleas, bargains, vows, regrets, wishes, hopes, dreams. Despair. Embarrassment. Chain smoking. “Just work. Nothing special.”

“What exciting lives we lead,” Finn muttered with a chuckle.

He thought this was the perfect amount of excitement, to be honest. His heart probably couldn't take much more. “I was thinking-... Maybe we should talk about some stuff.”

“Yeah?” To his credit, Finn didn't seem nervous at all. Concern was maybe in his voice, but-... Was that how much he trusted Poe? How much he believed in them? “What's up?”

Poe squeezed him a little tighter, having _no idea_ what he was supposed to say. “Later. I'm enjoying this cuddle party too much right now.”

Finn just laughed, forcing a smile out of him. “Cuddle party. If vampires really did turn into bats, you'd just be a teddy bear.” His love let out a yelp of laughter when Poe poked him in the ribs.

He was terrified. He never wanted this to end.

* * *

Poe had paid for their meal. Again. Despite Finn's best puppy dog eyes and convincing arguments to the contrary, Poe had just laughed and said, “I got this, baby,” before pecking a kiss to his lips. Finn's pouting probably would have been more effective if he hadn't giggled just then.

But this was okay. It was still salvageable. He had no _idea_ how he was going to say the three _little_ words now, though. Buying Poe a meal had been part of The Plan.

Though, now that he thinks about it, shouldn't he have had a bigger plan from the start? This should be something grand, right? But Lloyd said it was best to just get it over with. And Leia-

_He loves you very much, Finn._

Whatever people told him, whether it was encouragement or warnings to steer away, he knew that Poe cared for him. Maybe it didn't go that deep, maybe it _couldn't_ , but there was warmth there. Besides that, he was in love with Poe Dameron. And he wanted- He _needed_ Poe to know how he felt. Communication. Right.

But first thing's first. “What did you want to talk about?”

They were strolling aimlessly, headed in the general direction of the park. They hadn't made any concrete plans tonight other than dinner and talking. Part one was done, and Finn was a little worried about part two. It sounded kind of important.

“I don't know,” Poe sighed. Which-... What?

“You don't know?” That wasn't helping him feel much better. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. I mean, I think so?” Again, not reassuring. Poe worried his lip for a moment while Finn let him think. “There's so much I want to say, but I don't know what I'm _supposed_ to say. Or do. I have no idea what to do. But- Let me start over.” Poe took a deep breath and tried to explain it again. “There's so much _to_ say, but I'm trying to figure out everything I want versus everything I need versus everything I hate, and I'm trying to find some sort of middle ground that's not devastating but also not, well, devastating. Devastating for my sanity or devastating in general. I think. I don't know anymore.”

Yeah, Finn could relate. “That was the vaguest explanation ever,” he began, reaching out to take Poe's hand, “but I'm here for you. It sounds like, whatever this is, maybe you're overthinking it?”

“Oh, no doubt,” his boyfriend answered with a tiny smile, squeezing his hand. “I just wish the answers were obvious. I don't want to mess things up. Or... I don't want to ruin the important things. If I have to mess something up to protect something else, then-... But I don't know what to do. I don't know what I'm protecting anymore.”

And Finn felt totally useless. How could he help if Poe didn't tell him what was wrong? They could work on this together, right? But Poe _was_ telling him, in his own way. So Finn held his hand in both of his and placed a kiss against his boyfriend's cheek. “I think you do. You have good instincts, Poe. You should trust yourself.”

The breathy laugh he got was hollow. “One half of me is screaming to run and the other is telling me to jump in.”

“What do you _want_ to do?”

The smile fled and the look on Poe's face was nothing but sadness, nothing but worry. His voice, when he finally did speak, was quiet and subdued. “I want to jump in.”

Did he really? That didn't look like a guy who was very excited about the idea. “Then do it. Do whichever you want.”

“Ah.” Well, at least the smile was back now. Poe gave another soft laugh, squeezing their hands again. “It's not that easy. I'm too damn scared.”

What? Scared? Nervous, yes. He seemed to be a perpetually nervous person, but scared? Poe? Something scared _him_? “I'll help,” Finn said before even thinking about what kind of thing could possibly scare _Poe_. But he couldn't stand the thought of his boyfriend facing his fear alone. He couldn't stand the thought of him being afraid of anything. “Whatever it is, we can work on it together.”

Poe seemed... shocked by the offer. Which wasn't very heartening. Did he think Finn wouldn't offer? Had he been lead to believe that? Either way, he was looking at him with wide eyed innocence now. “You'll help?”

“Of course,” Finn answered. Despite his best efforts, he could feel himself pouting. “I mean, the cutesy, sappy stuff is great, but that's not all this is. We're supposed to be a team – partners – and we can handle anything. I _want_ to help you handle anything.”

“Oh.” And he still looked shocked. _Why_ was he shocked? It was both heartbreaking and annoying as all hell.

Finn just leaned in and placed another kiss beside his eye. “It'll be okay. I'm here for you, no matter what's going on. Now, I know all of that stuff was kind of intentionally vague, but maybe talking it out will make it seem less overwhelming. Things are usually pretty simple at the heart of the problem. We can figure it out.”

“I love you.”

The sentence was so far off topic, it took Finn a second to even register the words. But once he did and was able to run it through his head a few times, Poe had already stopped moving and brought them both to a halt. He looked as shocked as Finn felt, staring at him with wide eyes and a red face.

And Finn-... He, uh-... He stared back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I did.
> 
> As an aside, Idk if I told you guys, but the soundtrack to this whole fic is Odezsa's "In Return" album, especially "White Lies" and "All We Need," in case you wanted to fill the next week with some theme music. I just listen to the album on repeat while typing up chapters.
> 
> Anyway! Thank you so much for reading! Only took them 26 chapters to start sharing their feelings!


	27. Chapter 27

Oh God. Oh fuck. Oh hell. Oh fuck. Oh God. Why did he say that? Why did he say that? Oh fucking hell fuck God fuck. Why did he say that? Finn was just staring at him. Why was Finn just staring at him?

Finn was blinking now, though. Rapidly blinking. At least it was a reaction? “Wha- What?”

What? _What?_ Oh God. “I should go.”

“No!” Grasping hands pulled him back around to face Finn again, reigniting the stare down. “You-” Finn blinked and looked him hard in the eyes. “You love me?”

_Why did he say that?_ It felt like he just shoved himself over a ledge, falling faster, heart in his throat, scream getting lost in the wind. He didn't know what was below, but the previous falls had stopped hard and fast and he would really rather not do that again, thank you. _Why the fuck did he say that?_ He needed to leave. Right now. Ten minutes ago.

_Stop staring at me. Stop staring at me. Stop staring at me._

But Finn didn't stop. Rather, his eyes darted back and forth over Poe's face as if he were trying to read him like a book. Then, slowly, tortuously, he grew a smile. “You love me?” The question sounded almost rhetorical this time.

Was the smile a good thing? That was good, right?

“Poe,” Finn said in a breath, laughing at him. His eyes were shining. Good? Bad? Good? “Oh, Poe, I- I love you, too. I love you so much.”

What? The air had escaped Poe's lungs. He hadn't- What?

Was Finn still talking? “I was- Ah, _geez_ , Poe. I was so worried. I've been wanting to tell you for- for _weeks_ it seems like. I couldn't ever figure it out. But I love you. _I love you_. I can't believe I'm saying it.”

“You're crying.”

Poe didn't realize he had even said anything until Finn was wiping away his tears. “Yeah, I- I'm sorry. I'm just- I can't believe you-” He laughed again, joyous and happy and _pure_ and _good_. “I'm in love with you, Poe. I can't believe it was that easy.”

Easy. He had a lot to say about _easy_ but that was for later. Right now Finn was crying, and Poe had the vocabulary range of a goldfish. He hugged him, pulling him close, holding him tight, trying to breathe. Finn loved him. Finn loved him. Finn loved him.

His love laughed and sniffled against him, holding him close, too.

Finn loved him. This was bad. This was _so bad_.

“Uh, Poe.” His love laughed again, patting his back. “Squeezing a little tight there.”

“I'm freaking out,” he answered, genuinely surprised how clear his voice sounded.

“You okay?”

“I don't think so.” Not okay. Decidedly not okay. He was fucked. Everything was fucked. _Everything_ was fucked. Why did he say that? Finn _loved_ him? What?

The future was... looming. And diverse. There was no spectrum. There were just different branches of radical extremes, and Poe was terrified of every last one of them. _You damn idiot,_ a voice said to him. _I told you to run_.

“It's a lot, I know,” Finn whispered in his ear, rubbing his back. “Breathe with me.”

Why was he so sweet? Why was he so _good_? But Finn loved him. Finn chose him. Just for now, however long Finn wanted, they belonged to each other. Poe took a deep breath and tried to steady himself. Finn chose him. He had to be worth it. He had to keep him safe. It was all going to end horribly, and Poe would be made to suffer, but he had to do _this_ right. For Finn. For his love. He had to be okay. He could give in to all of the good things in the world for just one night, at least. “I'm okay.”

He felt a kiss feather over his neck. “We should probably get off this sidewalk whenever we get the chance.”

Yeah, that was probably a good idea. The park, however, didn't seem like the best destination. “My place or yours?” Presumptuous? Yes. Of course. Completely.

But he felt Finn's smile against his skin, so- “Would mine be too inconvenient? It's closer, but... you know.”

A chance to see his scales again? “Your place sounds perfect.”

* * *

Poe had calmed down enough to move again, and the walking seemed to do him some good. It _certainly_ was good for Finn. It gave him more time to think, process, realize exactly what was happening. Poe was in love with him. _Poe was in love with him!_

He could _scream!_ He could jump in the air, click his heels, roll around on the ground- Poe _loved_ him! _Him!_

Despite all of that, he had to keep himself calm for Poe's sake right now. Yelling and freaking out and texting everyone he knew probably wouldn't help.

They reached the empty beach in record time, the fair now gone and the boardwalk far less crowded. “See the flowers?” he said, pointing them out in the darkness, nearly out of sight. It was the first words either of them had said since they started walking. “They don't look incredible yet, but I'll make them pretty.”

“They're beautiful,” Poe answered in a low, husky voice, leaning forward to kiss Finn's neck. “You're beautiful. You're amazing.”

“I'll show you the tour later,” he replied, giving a quick kiss back before peeling off his jacket and shirt.

His boyfriend's clothes were following his into the hidden chest quickly. Far quicker than last time, actually, but with a little more grace to it. Finn went ahead and watched him as he undressed, feeling odd that Poe was panicking a moment ago but wasn't so much as shaking now. Sure, that's a _great_ thing, but not in character for him. “How are you feeling?”

Poe's eyes flashed to him, and Finn definitely caught them lingering at his bare waist for a split second. And then- And then Poe was naked. Oh. “Oh.” There was something different in his eyes. Not really something _new_ because Finn had seen it before. Except it was always too quick back then, something that flared and died and made Poe embarrassed. The only time he had gotten a good look was right after the bite... “ _Oh._ ”

They reached for each other at the same time, but Finn managed to beat him to the kiss. Poe's hands were gripping hard at his still clothed hips before he loosened up. “I feel-” He stopped to breathe, eyes flicking between Finn's mouth and eyes. For Finn's part, he was just trying to not let his panting be too obvious right now. “I feel impatient.”

“You and me both,” he answered, quickly getting rid of the rest of his clothes. They both fumbled their way to the water, Finn actually a little more clumsy than Poe on this rare occasion. In another twist of events, they also seemed to be semi-melded together.

With Poe's arms around him and kisses being stamped into his collarbone, Finn waited until they were at least waist deep before taking off his amulet. Poe's hands moved from skin to scales, and he moaned against Finn's chest. That was new. _Fantastic_ but new.

“Hold your breath?”

Poe nodded and they dived under.

Due to the nature of the trip, they couldn't keep up the touching and kissing. Which, again, gave Finn a moment to calm down. It still seemed like the trip was taking _forever_ , though. _Impatient_ seemed less like a word and more like a state of being. He had no idea what Poe's plans were but he wanted to be a part of them right now.

When they both emerged in his home, back into the world of air and earth, Poe took another moment to breathe. “I love your place,” he said. “I love coming here. Have I told you that?”

“No,” Finn replied, swimming closer to pin his boyfriend against the rocks.

“I do,” he continued, looking Finn up and down. “I should have told you. I should tell you lots of things.”

“Like what?” he asked, inching closer, sharing his breath.

Poe's eyes were flashing across his face and body, darting to and fro as if scared of missing something. “You remember what you said the last time we were making love?” Finn smiled at the choice of words. “I think about that a _lot_.”

“Kiss me.”

Poe's hands were quickly on the back of his neck, pulling him into a desperate kiss. This was different from all the times before, but Finn couldn't bring him to stop. The vampire was a little rougher, a little harder. His hand was shaking. “ _Poe_ ,” he gasped in the breath between their kiss. “Poe, we have all night.”

His lips moved down Finn's chin to his neck, teasing and laving near the gills and scales. “ _Want more_.”

“You have it,” he answered, running a gentle hand through his boyfriend's hair, trying to calm the storm Poe was creating. “All of it.”

Poe slowed and looked at him. There was lust in his eyes, of course, but there was a sheen of sadness, too, and that was unacceptable. “I-” He began to say, then paused and began again. “I have so much to tell you.”

“Later?” Finn suggested, inching closer and chancing for a smile. “I love you. We love each other. What matters right now other than that?”

Instead of a smile, he got an escaped tear against Poe's already damp cheek. “God, Finn, _love_ -” He was on him again, slower, full of heat, but no less desperate. “Please tell me you have lube here.”

That surprised a laugh out of Finn. “I wouldn't have suggested my place if I didn't.” He replaced the amulet around his neck and pulled away from Poe just enough to pull himself out of the water. “Come here.”

He heard Poe groan behind him before the sounds of his splashing indicated enough that he was following. “Someday-...” His voice trailed away.

But Finn smirked. “Maybe that's something else we should talk about later. Another thing on the list.” He'd heard of mermaids and humans having sex without amulets but hadn't ever tried it. At least he sounded sure now, but the rest was for later. “So,” he continued, finally reaching the back of the cave where he's pretty sure Poe hadn't been yet, “want to tell me in detail what exactly you've been- _oof-_ ”

Poe had latched on to him from behind, arms wrapping around his waist and chest like a very affectionate squid. “Should we dry off first? Because if I start explaining my daydreams now, I'm not sure when I'll stop.”

Finn did tend to go out of his way to keep his blankets, sleeping bags, tent, and general sleeping area free of water. However, the erection pressing against the back of his thigh was making a very good argument. “Tell me,” he answered, tilting his head to feel Poe's lips at the back of his neck. Finn was almost loathe to pull away but he turned around to sit on the blankets spilling out of the warm tent, dragging his lover down with him. “I want to hear everything.”

There was a color to Poe's cheeks, almost looking embarrassed, and his eyes were flashing across- Wait, no. There was no light for his eyes to reflect except for the soft glow of the lighting far overhead. It was that other glow in his eyes, the inhuman part. Finn groaned, his voice muffled by a sudden deep kiss, his back pressing into the soft floor. “Well,” Poe began in that growling, husky voice, moving along to place open-mouthed kisses along the bottom of Finn's chin.

Finn, for his part, was frantically feeling around with one hand for the lube. He found himself using it more and more often the longer he dated the vampire currently pressed against him, which was great as the poor bottle wasn't seeing much action before the faithful Q-Pid match. It was definitely around here somewhere, he knew that much.

Poe had already moved down to his collarbone again, and Finn was pretty sure he was trying to suck it out of his body. “I, uh- Right.” He began kissing down to Finn's nipple. “You said... something about me fucking you.”

“Yeah, I did,” he answered with no air in his lungs. Where was the damn lube!? He tilted his head to the side and tried to recruit his eyes to the search. “I did say something like that.”

“And something about-” Poe moaned as he kissed down Finn's ribs. “Something about biting.”

“I think I-” Finn squeaked and arched as Poe bit into his side. Not a vampire bite, no fangs involved, but it was more than enough for his dick to jerk with excitement. When he spoke again, his voice was a lot more shrill. “I think I'm going to go insane if I can't find this damn lube.”

Poe ghosted a laugh against his stomach before he moved slightly away to help the search, much to Finn's disappointment. “No, don't stop,” he heard himself whine.

But his boyfriend was quick to emerge victorious. “Half gone,” he hummed with a sinister smirk, moving closer to Finn's lips and inching away before they could meet. “Someone's been enjoying themselves.”

“He'd really like to enjoy himself with his boyfriend if you've got a minute,” Finn grouched.

Poe just laughed at him with eyes of fire and a sharp grin. “Condoms?”

Oh, right. Now Finn's other arm was wiggling in the general direction of the chest. “Do we need them? I read stuff about the stuff and... stuff.”

“Don't know,” Poe answered happily, bending around towards the chest and digging inside, straddling Finn's hips, whole body one beautiful twisting line. “That's probably part of the talking later part of our date.”

“Condom now, talk later.” _Anything_ to speed this up even that sounded like awful advice out of context. He gripped at Poe's hips. “You do it, please. And you have to give me more details than just fucking and biting.”

Poe kissed his stomach and moved down, away from Finn's grasp, to start manhandling his legs. “I mean, you _are_ about to live it. I never was much of a poet.”

“It's fucking, not poetry.”

“ _Au contraire_ ,” Poe said mid-pant, kissing Finn's knee, “kinda think they're one in the same. You deserve more Wallace Stevens, and I'm just over here like William Carlos Williams.”

“You are _such_ a fucking nerd-” His retort swiftly turned into a sharp moan with Poe's slick finger entering him without much preamble if still slowly.

Poe leaned forward, his finger setting a steady, glacial pace. “I've imagined a dozen different ways by now and they're _all_ my favorite. Hard and fast, gentle and slow. Fucking you into a wall, riding you, I want everything. Anything you'll give me. And your blood, your _taste_ \- You like it so much. I can't believe- I can't believe you. You're incredible. You're amazing. The way you lost it last time. God, it's awful of me, it's terrible, but I've just been wanting to do it again so badly. It's all I think about. Just making you lose your mind. You're so beautiful when you're lost in it, Finn.”

He couldn't breathe – he could barely think – and the imagery with the praise and- “Please, Poe, more.” Finn moved hips up, trying to speed this up. “More, more-”

Poe hushed him with a sigh and a kiss, _very_ slowly adding in a second finger. It burned but not enough to slow this down anymore. “I've got you, _cariño_. I've got you,” he whispered into Finn's chest. “Going to make you feel incredible. Make us both go crazy. I've wanted this for so long. Even before you mentioned it. I had no idea but I wanted it so bad. Just wanted you to myself.”

“More. More.”

“You're going awfully fast.”

“Been enjoying myself, remember?”

Poe groaned into his neck, melting against him, nipping at his neck. “Tell me how else you enjoy yourself?” he asked sweetly, adding a third.

Finn arched into it, breathing through the stretch for a moment before allowing himself to answer. “Just thinking of you. Thinking of this. Thinking of that next bite.” Poe's hips jumped against his. “Please, fuck me.”

“The things you say. I don't even think you realize.” Poe closed his eyes and bit his lip. “A little more. I don't want to hurt you.”

“You won't.”

“I might.”

“Poe.” Finn reached up and only just managed to grab at his shoulders to pull him down for a kiss that felt like nothing but tongue, not that either cared. “I'm ready. I want you. Please, please-”

The vampire groaned again and slowly took his fingers away. Finn nearly clawed at his back from the empty feeling, but no, he asked for this, right. “Don't know how anyone could deny you anything,” he said between kisses, working with the condom. “Don't know how you're not ruling the world by now.”

“All part of the plan,” Finn answered with a breathy laugh. Then Poe's dick was there, full and flush against him. The head was barely in, but Finn was already holding his breath. It felt really good and slightly impossible, and Finn reveled in it as Poe stopped and started again.

The small thrusts were driving him mad until Poe grabbed one of his hands and held it tight beside them. Finn gripped hard, grounding himself, realizing that the moans he was hearing weren't _just_ coming from Poe. He opened his eyes to see Poe above him, flush and breathing hard and staring at him with half-lidded eyes. His eyes looked impossibly deep, and Poe licked his lips. “How you doing?”

“So good,” Finn answered between his own breaths. “So good, Poe. You feel so good. Please, keep going, don't stop.”

Poe shook his head in answer and started moving a little faster, a little deeper, and the pace was making Finn crazy. His free hand was roving across Poe's back and side, trying to convey what he was having trouble saying, but Poe wouldn't get closer and pound in like he _desperately_ wanted. Instead, the vampire had his own free hand against Finn's stomach as he moved slowly at different angles- _Oh_.

Oh, that's what he was looking for. Oh.

Finn arched against him again, moaning loud enough to echo. Maybe his place was a better idea than he realized. “ _Poe_ , yes. Yes, please, _yes_.”

Poe's hand roved up to his chest, over his heart. “I've got you, baby. I've always got you. You're so good. You're so good.”

Finn wrapped his legs tighter around Poe's hips, trying to get more and faster and _now_ , but he didn't doubt that his boyfriend was well aware of what he was doing. Hitting and missing his prostate randomly, setting a pace that was just on _that_ side of too much. This was their first time like this and he wanted it to go on forever and he wanted the climax right now and he wanted a whole hell of a lot of things suddenly. He gripped harder at Poe's hand, left imprints of his nails on Poe's ribs, moved his hips to meet his thrusts. He couldn't judge how long they'd been going at this anymore. He just wanted _everything_.

Also, that torture on his prostate was really doing a number on what shreds were left of his sanity. “I _need_ \- Oh, Poe, _please_. I'm- I can't- _Please_.”

Poe's voice keened and grunted, and he was slowly bending forward, still thrusting inside of him. “You're so good. You're everything. I love you. I love you.”

“I love you,” Finn sobbed out, pulling Poe down faster into another desperate kiss. He was close and it was so good and he was going crazy. “I love you, baby. Please. I love you.”

Poe kissed him quiet again before moving to his neck, thrusting harder and deeper, still hitting his prostate every second or third time- How did he _do_ that? How was he even able to keep enough of his mind to _do that_? Then he felt Poe's tongue against his jugular and teeth and-

He gasped, heart stopping, world whitening out. Poe's warm skin beneath his fingers, soft cloth and hard earth against his back. A scream. His scream. A _good_ scream. Every nerve ending set ablaze and a warm, loving, living, rutting body against his.

_Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Never end._

He could feel the world slowing coming back, Poe's hips jacking hard into him before stilling, and soft lips against his throat. But the nirvana wasn't ending even if the chaos of the moment was slowly slipping away.

“ _I love you_ ,” Poe growled against his throat, and Finn opened his eyes enough to catch the flash of red.

* * *

Finn fell asleep pretty quickly once everything was said and done, and Poe held him close to drift off after his love.

But it wasn't a very long nap before Poe's worries woke him. Finn hadn't moved, hands still clutching at him and body relaxed. The soft glow of his faerie lights and the moon glittering off of his scales made him look ethereal, heavenly, completely unreal and nearly unimaginable. Poe was _almost_ sure he couldn't exist.

Then Finn snuffled and snuggled closer, and Poe was tossed back into reality. And reality was _bizarre_. He had this beautiful, kind, incredible, precious mermaid who loved him in his arms. How did his life culminate into this? How was this even possible?

He was certain that this would never work and equally certain that neither of them would let go of this so easily. It _had_ to work. It's worked so far. But what about a year from now? Ten years from now? Twenty?

They had a lot to talk about.

Poe kissed him on the shoulder and moved out of the nest they made, not wanting to associate his dark thoughts with their warm afterglow moment. Instead, he walked down to the water's edge and took a good look at himself. The bright red of his eyes made his whole face look dark and... far from _ethereal_. He shook his head of those thoughts, reminding himself that he'd gotten over that _years_ ago, and knelt down to wash off.

He didn't know what he was _supposed_ to tell Finn, which parts of his life were pertinent to the present. He didn't even know what Finn wanted to hear. Certainly not falsehoods. He couldn't lie about the past but he couldn't exactly tell him everything either. They'd be there for months.

What he _had_ to tell him about were his hang-ups and fears. That wouldn't be too hard, right?

Poe took a deep, long breath, held it, and slowly let it out. It was fine. Everything was going to be fine.

“Poe?”

He turned, finding Finn rousing enough to move his hands through the blankets and lift his head. He smiled, his worries draining away again. He couldn't _always_ distract himself with the present, but everything would be handled soon. “I'm here,” he answered back, grabbing for one of Finn's towels and wetting it before moving back to their spot.

Finn spotted him quickly with his tired eyes and reached for him as he got closer. “Where'd you go?”

“Nowhere,” Poe chuckled, settling back into his spot to clean Finn, too. “Thought we'd sleep better without the gunk.”

“Maybe,” Finn hummed, sleepily holding on to his arm. “Sorry I passed out on you.”

“Technically, I passed out on top of you,” Poe replied with a smile, finishing his job and tossing the towel away for later. He snuggled back in close, claiming his warm spot again. “Sleep now, talk later?”

His love hummed again, shifting until he had both arms around Poe. “You know the way to my heart.”

Poe smiled to himself and rested his head on Finn's chest, listening to the even breaths and light snores. Right, talk later. He took one more deep breath and fell back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys got a longer chapter this week! Also, my apology to William Carlos Williams.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	28. Chapter 28

Finn woke up with a mountain of blankets on top of him. He didn't remember covering up but he was also in a warm spot so the details didn't matter much. But his legs felt stiff, body never appreciating the amulet being left on so long, so he stretched a little before opening his eyes. It was morning already, birds chirping and the sunlight spilling against his blankets and torso-

Finn jerked, self-awareness hitting him like a brick as he frantically searched for Poe. But his blanket mountain had jerked awake with a grunt. Poe poked his head out where he had been sleeping (and possibly drooling a little) against Finn's chest, eyes still a dark red and only sort of awake. “What happened? What's wrong?”

“I thought-” Finn glanced around, trying to take stock of the situation and make his brain come alive at the same time. The mass of blankets didn't even look like there was a person underneath. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, of course,” Poe answered with a yawn, snuggling back into Finn's chest. “Bad dream?”

For a split second, he actually did wonder if he dreamed that Poe was a vampire. But- No. No, no, that was definitely real. “No, it's just... the sun? It's morning.”

There was a confused hum as Poe poked his head up again and looked around. “Oh, yeah. I guess I slept all night.” He chuckled to himself and promptly vanished back under the blankets again. Finn felt arms squeeze tighter around his waist while his boyfriend snuggled close again. “Apparently I have this ability to find a way out of the sunlight when I'm sleeping. Leia discovered it ages ago when she tried to wake me up by opening all the curtains in my suite. Didn't work.”

“That sounds a little rude, to be honest,” Finn replied as he relaxed back into their nest. He had heard the usual stories about vampires in the sun but he didn't actually know the details. Didn't really want to know them...

The blankets shrugged. “I was being an ass. 'Sides, she wasn't going to hurt me.” A kiss was pressed into his chest. “Good morning?”

“Good morning,” he laughed, kissing the blankets. “There's a lot of shade. We just picked the absolute worst spot to sleep.” Then it occurred to him that Poe hadn't left. He didn't roll away or anything. He stayed in the sun to sleep next to Finn. That was... well, romantic, sure, but also a little nerve-wracking. That was a _lot_ of love and trust in that simple, unconscious act. Maybe the keyword is _unconscious_ , though?

“Looks pretty good from in here,” Poe's muffled voice answered back just as Finn felt another kiss on his chest.

Finn laughed again, broken from his darker thoughts. “If you let me up, I'll find us some breakfast.”

The blankets shuffled and grumbled while Poe seemed to think about it. There was a hand wandering around under there, perhaps debating the merits of staying or leaving. “Are you hungry?”

He grinned to himself. “Not really. Probably will be soon.”

There was another hum as the blankets started dragging down his body, leaving kisses in their wake. “Well, I'm a little peckish.” The kisses paused and Poe looked up enough to reveal his dopey grin. “Get it? Peckish?”

Finn nodded, his grin growing. “You're _hilarious_ , Dameron.”

“Why, thank you, Midae,” he chuckled before swallowing down about half of Finn's erection.

The mermaid hissed, arching back and being careful not to tug on the blankets. The sudden wave of emotions and feeling was nearly overwhelming. “I know this is probably obvious,” Finn said somewhere between a moan and a laugh, “but _please_ don't bite me down there.”

Poe choked, quickly pulling off of Finn to laugh until tears were in his eyes.

“ _Hey_ ,” Finn whined beneath his own laugh.

The vampire sat up, blankets draping around him like a long veil, and kissed him. “I love you.”

“Love you, too,” he answered with a wide grin, hoping he'll _never_ get used to that. Finn kissed him back and pulled the blankets over both of their heads, staying under there until they both tired out all over again.

* * *

Finn hadn't been entirely truthful when he said he couldn't cook. Apparently, even mermaids and others like their kind got tired of raw fish after a while. And Finn's skewered and roasted fish were wonderful, even if he did try to shoot down Poe's praises because the only spice he had was salt. Regardless, he had a nice setup with the small, makeshift hearth placed where the smoke could escape the cave.

“I also have canned food and stuff somewhere, if you want more,” he said after they had polished off the fish.

“Nah,” Poe answered with a carefree smile, standing and stretching next to the now dowsed hearth. “I'm full. You?”

He caught Finn's eyes traveling down his naked body, giving him ample opportunity to look over Finn's. The mermaid had removed the amulet to go fishing and hadn't replaced it, much to Poe's enjoyment. “I'm stuffed,” he said, lecherous eyes looking back up at him before flopping back on the rocks like a tease. “Carry me to bed, sir.”

“My pleasure,” Poe purred and quickly scooped him up in his arms.

Finn gave out a delightful shriek. “I was kidding!” he laughed. “I need to stop telling you to do that.”

“Never,” Poe chuckled. “I might like it too much when you order me around.”

“So that's how the 'kiss me' thing has been working,” Finn answered with another lustful grin, wrapping his arms around his neck. “We're going to have to test drive that sometime soon.”

Poe ducked into the large tent and gently placed Finn down in the middle. “Just say the word,” Poe answered, trying to keep those thoughts close while also staying in the moment. He snuggled in beside him and sighed. “But first, we should probably do that talking thing we keep putting off.” Or maybe he was the only one putting it off. Either way, he really didn't want to do it but things would just get worse if they never spoke at all.

“I guess that's fair,” Finn sighed, grabbing Poe's hand and placing a kiss on the back of it. “I went to the doctor at some point last week for a flu shot and got a checkup while I was there. Clean as a whistle. I would have said that last night but it took too many words.”

What? Poe blinked at him before what he was saying finally landed. “Oh!” He laughed and belatedly kissed him on the cheek. “That's fantastic, baby. I'm clean, too. You were right last night. My kind can't carry that or any other stuff. Yay for immunities?”

“Yay,” Finn chuckled, rolling over to face him, weaving their fingers together. “So, wait, not even a cold?”

“Nope,” Poe sighed with a smile, melting at how precious their hands together like that looked. “Since I've turned, I haven't been sick. Well, except that one time. I had the bright idea to drink the blood of a very drunk man while I was also very drunk. I didn't even know the meaning of the word _hungover_ until that next morning. I don't recommend it.”

“Can't get sick, but you can get drunk and have hangovers.”

“I can get messed up, yeah,” he answered, laughing at the memories. They weren't very funny back then, so it was good to laugh now. “I think it was his blood more than anything. But, anyway, now I guess we have more plans for next time.” Poe's eyes, of their own bidding, darted to his loves hips.

From the sound of Finn's voice, he hadn't missed the look. “Maybe,” he answered. When Poe looked back to him, the smile was still there. “What do you know about fucking mermaids without an amulet, Dameron?”

_The things he would say._ Poe bit his lip and reminded himself that they both _just_ got off like not even half an hour ago. “Not much,” he admitted, “but I'm very eager to learn.”

Finn's smile turned from naughty to shy. Which, to be honest, was still doing things to Poe. “We might both need to do some research, then,” he said. “I've never done it either. _Heard_ of other people doing it, especially before amulets were more common, but I never bothered to ask about the details.”

He knew that it wouldn't be very educational, but the thought of them watching porn together was yet another heady thought. God, how long had it been since he felt like this about someone? Wait, okay, no, um- Right. His smile fell as he was reminded of why they needed to talk in the first place.

“We, um- Since we both seem pretty serious about this, I was-” No! He can't presume. “Are we both serious about this? Is that too much? I didn't mean to imply something like that.”

“Poe.” Finn paused to pull their hands towards him and kiss the vampire's fingers, keeping their eyes connected. “I'm serious.”

“Oh, good,” he sighed, whole body deflating. That was good. It was good, right? Whatever. Details. He shook his head. “Um, but, listen. My track record with this-... We should make plans for long-term. I think. If you want to... We could just wing it. That might be best. I overthink things.” This was all happening so fast, though, right? Who knew if they would even last a year? “I mean, this is new. Well, all of it's new, but the overthinking stuff is new. New for me, I mean. I used to not overthink stuff, but then bad things would happen. But maybe bad things will happen if I overthink stuff, anyway, so I guess it doesn't really matter. Shit happens, right? That's just life. We can't help that. Let's just wing it. Forget I-”

“Poe.”

He paused to catch his breath but found no more words to say. Finn was giving him a look that was more concerned than anything. Poe kinda wished he was more annoyed.

Finn moved closer to him and started speaking softer. “What do you want to plan for?”

Was he going to make him _say it_? Poe didn't want to talk about this! “Just-” He shrugged, trying to find gentler words for whatever the fuck his life was. “Just the future. I mean, I'm-... We aren't really-... We're different, you and I.”

His love's expression became something infinitely sadder, visibly trying to not show it and failing. “Too different?”

“No,” he answered, the knee-jerk reaction, but remembered and winced. “Maybe?”

Finn frowned harder and looked down to Poe's chest. After a beat, he glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the water before looking back again. “I don't _need_ the ocean. It doesn't-”

“No!” His love jolted at the outburst, but Poe couldn't help it. He couldn't take Finn away from the water, the ocean, his _home_. Just that he would even think that or that he'd _be willing to_ was enough to stab through Poe's heart. “No. No, no. No, that wasn't- I didn't mean that. I couldn't, Finn. I could never.”

“Okay, okay.” Finn moved closer and snaked his free hand to Poe's cheek. “Then what's wrong?”

His litany fell apart at the blunt question. Finn really _didn't_ know what the problem was. Somehow, in the whirlwind of their romance, it hadn't occurred to him. But, no, Finn's smarter than that. He had to be aware of the problem but didn't feel it was important for some reason. Perhaps he didn't care, but that was out of character. Better yet, perhaps he wasn't as serious as Poe thought. Perhaps he didn't see them lasting that long. They _couldn't_ , right? There was only the present for them. Right? Poe wanted it to last. He didn't care about what would happen. He wanted the future. He wanted everything.

Finn softly pressed their lips together, making Poe blink back into the world. “Tell me,” his love asked, feathering kisses along his cheek and jaw. “Please.”

Leia said they had to communicate. Hell, _everyone_ said that. But he didn't want to drag this down. He didn't want to be the bearer of pain. He didn't know how to bring this up without it being dreadful for both of them instead of just him. “I've only ever loved two people before you,” he finally whispered, absolutely no courage in his veins but his mouth running off without him anyway. His eyes met Finn's. “They're both gone now.”

Finn's frown was sad, confused, almost pitying, but supportive. There was a show of comfort there, of someone willing to listen, and it stayed until his eyes widened. The realization looked like a physical cover over his happiness, a permanent stain.

Poe sat up and reached out of the tent. He didn't know if he intended to stand, pace, or leave, but he didn't get to find out. Finn's hands wrapped around his arm and weighed him down. Not enough for Poe to not get free, because he could have, but enough for him to know Finn didn't want him to run. Poe didn't lean back and get comfortable either. He stayed there, on his knees, looking back to Finn as if he could possibly explain himself.

What a horrendous thing to do. To put that weight of guilt on Finn over something he couldn't control. He was sickened with himself. Who would- “I didn't-”

“You don't know?”

“-mean tha-... What?” Poe's brow furrowed, realizing that Finn must have entirely missed the point _again_. He couldn't decide if he was grateful or crushed.

Finn held his arm tightly, searching his eyes for some sort of sign that he couldn't seem to find. “You don't know. I can't- You actually _don't_ know.”

“What don't I- What?” He closed his eyes, shook his head a little harder, and tried to just tear through this like he should have done at the start. “No, Finn, listen-”

“I live longer than humans,” he blurted out all at once. Poe's words were stolen from him again as he tried to rationalize what he'd just heard. In the beat of silence that followed, Finn slowly continued. “Mermaids live a lot longer than humans. The people in my clan would usually reach at least 200. I've heard of mermaids from more peaceful clans living as much as 500 years, some of them 800, I think.”

Poe stared at him, processing the numbers. His own age was just a little over 200 now. That was a low number? Wait, so- Wait.

“How long have you been worried about this?” Finn asked, trying and failing to tug Poe closer. The vampire was stock still. 200 years. _800_ years. “Were you thinking that the whole time?” He had no excuse. He had no _words_. “You didn't know but you still dated me?” A sob escaped him.

* * *

Finn cradled Poe against his chest, weaving fingers through his hair, trying to offer soothing words. He was pretty sure the vampire's grip was going to leave a bruise or two but he wasn't about to tell Poe to let up. Instead, he leaned back against the blankets and tried to get them both to calm down.

There was a lot to unpack. He was only the third person Poe had loved? And he fell for him despite the issue of lifespans? He didn't call it off or slow things down. He just went full in. Why? Was he that used to getting hurt? Did he really want them to be together for that long, though? Had the entire relationship been based on false assumptions?

He was so lost in thought that it took a moment for him to notice the silence, the soft crying _finally_ coming to an end. Finn pushed more of Poe's hair aside and leaned down enough to kiss his scalp. “I love you,” he muttered, meaning it with far more conviction and seriousness than any of the times before. He wasn't sure Poe had heard him.

“I'm sorry I didn't know,” the other said, staying pressed against him.

Finn just held him a little tighter. “You know now. I'm sorry I didn't tell you.”

“I'll learn more,” Poe answered. “I promise.”

“Poe... Are you okay?”

Silence answered before the other eventually looked up at him. “Do you have any of that polish left?”

Finn paused, debating his answer. “Yes,” he said, leaning up a little, “but are you okay?” He didn't want to take the opportunity for Poe to think away from him, but he also felt wrong continuing anything else just in case they left the topic. He had to know that he was all right. He literally couldn't imagine what Poe could be feeling right now.

But the vampire just stared back at him, and Finn was sure that he wouldn't answer for a moment. Then- “I love you, too,” he said. “You're here, you're _staying here_ , and I love you, and I... can't-... I never-... I wish I had known before.”

He couldn't help the question from spilling out of his mouth. “Why did you date me anyway? Why did you let us get this close?”

“Because I love you,” was the quick answer. “I've loved you the whole time.”

The _whole_ time. Finn opened his mouth, trying to find words where there wasn't any. Poe chose some time together over none, a choice it sounds as if he had made before and knew the consequences of. He-... He couldn't think about that right now. Finn reached into the corner of the tent and pulled out the tin of polish, handing it over to Poe.

The other took it but didn't look away from him. “Are you okay?” he repeated the question back, asking in a soft voice. He sounded guilty. He sounded like he had hurt something.

“I am. I love you, too, Poe.” At least that last part was totally honest. “I love you so much.” Before he could keep talking, Poe kissed him silent and opened the tin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At all those people who were hoping for a vampiric mermaid situation: I have so many different paths for this story planned and that may or may not be one of the paths. I just had this twist planned from the start and I kinda enjoy that it makes the vampirism thing harder (but FAR more enjoyable) to get to.
> 
> Sorry for the dunk of angst this chapter. They'll figure themselves out. Thank you for reading!


	29. Chapter 29

His love's scales were just as beautiful as ever, but it seemed the polish had been helping with the minuscule cracks. Poe couldn't be sure if Finn had been using it regularly, but even knowing that one coating helped made warmth swell in his chest. _He_ helped him. He did that.

Poe focused in on every scale as he went, paying attention to each individual one. They were thin to being almost translucent but also strong and varied. He was careful with every one, buffing each with his thumb before moving on. A part of him was almost certain that this wasn't how this was done, that mermaids most likely applied it like lotion or something, but Finn hadn't raised any complaints.

His eyes raised from the scale on the small of his love's back to his face. Finn was resting his head on his forearms, almost looking asleep. But he still seemed a little tense even like this. Right. Poe also did that. Flooded with shame, he looked away and went back to his task.

Everything was... working out? Right? The revelation had been a shock for him, something he could hardly wrap his head around, but this was a good thing. Why did he feel even more scared? Why did Finn look so worried? He wanted to ask, to talk about it, but he also just wanted the topic to die. It was good but it somehow made things complicated when nothing had to be. He was probably just overthinking it again.

“Babe?”

Poe blinked, realizing he had been buffing one scale for far too long. Instead of answering immediately, he inspected his work to make sure he hadn't hurt something but everything seemed to be okay.

Before he could apologize and keep working, Finn continued. “Can I ask you something personal? About your past? It's okay if you don't want to answer.”

Poe paused and cleared his throat, having not spoken at all since this began. “You can ask anything, sweetheart. You know that.” It seemed like he reminded him every day. Regardless, he did appreciate that Finn gave him the chance to back out. He hoped he never had to.

“The two people from before, what were they like?” Finn asked before grimacing, wiggling his tail ever so slightly. “Don't answer if that's a bad subject, please.”

“It's not a bad subject,” Poe answered because part of him felt guilty that maybe it was. His guilt was less about Finn but more for about memory. He always fixated on the bad things, the endings they had together, and hardly bothered to think about the good. But he could do that for Finn _and_ for them. It was the least he could do.

So. Right. The good parts. “Well, you already kind of know about Dario,” he said, getting a look at Finn to gauge a reaction. All he got was Finn's attention, his love opening an eye enough to look at him. Poe couldn't really tell if he was surprised and just continued. “He was much older than me. I don't know by how much, but I think about 500 years or so from the way he talked, maybe more. He was the most powerful vampire I've ever seen at charms, like what Holdo did to Snap, but he didn't use it for that. He could look into people, see what they wanted, see their future. Something. He was always kind of vague. Half the time I figured he was full of shit. Like, a broken clock is right twice a day, right?”

Finn breathed a laugh, and Poe was shocked to find himself smiling. “He took his gift seriously, though,” Poe continued. “He didn't treat humans any different than he treated the rest of us, but he also turned a blind eye on the bad ones in our coven. That's probably why-... But anyway, I was with him for a long time. More than a decade, I think. I wasn't the only one in his bed, and he wasn't the only one in mine. We weren't like that. It was more casual than open, more mutual respect than love. But I did love him, and he loved me in his own way. To be honest with you, it was just easy. We loved each other because it was easy. I think he knew that at the time. I didn't. He was my first actual relationship, and I was already pushing 80 about that time. I didn't think about it that much.

“Not to say I didn't have people before him,” he added, licking his lips and getting a little more polish on his thumb, lost in the past. “There was- There was Maul. Didn't know his real name. He just called himself that and thought he was badass. Then there was Tomás once I came to the United States for the first time. Neither one of us knew English, and we were learning together while we, uh... hung out with the rest of our group. He found out what I was, didn't care, and things went from there, but-” He lifted his finger from the scale he had been working on. “I'm getting off track.”

“I don't mind,” Finn answered, a smile on his sleepy face. For the first time since their last conversation, he finally looked relaxed again.

Poe let out a breath and tried to figure out where he had been going. Ah. Right. “The other one was Haruki Muran,” he continued, going back to his task and trying to stay focused. “He was a doctor in Japan. My Japanese was bad at the time, it's _still_ pretty bad, but he had learned English and French while in college. Lucky for me, I guess.” He looked up to catch another twitch to Finn's grin, smiling himself. “We weren't together for very long. Barely knew each other for a few months. Seems like it was an eternity. We had a working relationship at first. I fetched blood for his patients, he let me sleep out of the sunlight, that kind of thing. Muran was witty, charming, painfully human. Really, I have no idea if we would have worked out. Everything was so stressful at the time, but love is love? I did love him.” He grimaced at himself. “I probably still do.”

“Of course, you do,” Finn answered in a tired but clearly happy voice. “That's not a bad thing. Love is good.”

The pain wasn't. But he hadn't felt that pain in a long time. Now it was just a ghost, a warning for him to not be foolish again. Yet here he was, being foolish. At the same time, he did look back fondly on his memories of them, remembering why he loved them in the first place. _That_ part wasn't bad.

Maybe this part will last a while, after all. At least until Finn got tired of him. He leaned forward and placed a kiss between his love's shoulder blades. “Not jealous?” he asked, only slightly teasing.

But Finn just laughed. “How dare you not wait 200 years for me to come around, Dameron.”

Poe laughed, too, pecking another kiss to a patch of his love's scales. Right. This was much better.

* * *

Finn was very _very_ happy that the gloom was beginning to lift. Poe could talk pleasantly about the past, about his lovers from before, but it was no secret there was an ache there. Old scars and all that. It was still hard for him to grasp the fact that Poe had wanted their relationship to be something more without knowing the whole truth. He couldn't decide if Poe was looking for a short-term relationship this whole time or if he felt that the love outweighed the hurt. He certainly couldn't ask.

Instead, he focused much more on the present moment. Poe's hands roving over his body were so gentle, so thorough. This feeling would always be a revelation. His mind drifted to other things, topics that were far more fun to think about.

Poe had Finn learn about biting and feeding in his own time with his own resources, always offering direction or answers if Finn needed them. It was an educational experience, still was, but he wondered about the merits of learning privately versus in-person. Experimenting sounded like fun but also had the unwelcome potential for embarrassment. They _could_ try to learn together. Besides, last time it took forever to get to the actual bite. Finn kind of wanted to speed the clock up a little bit this go around and he was pretty sure Poe wouldn't object to that.

Just as he decided on a game plan, Poe finished the last scale on the back of his neck, replacing his hands for lips, touches for kisses that were just as gentle. Finn smiled to himself, absolutely thrilled about getting back to better things. He snagged his phone, bending his neck to the side to let his boyfriend nuzzle closer. “Here,” he said with a grin, finding what he was looking for and angling the phone so Poe could see over his shoulder. “This is a good start.”

“A start-” Poe murmured in his ear, then- “ _Oh._ ”

It was nothing special. Just the first search result that came up about mermaids and humans _copulating_ , according to the website. There were pictures. Nothing sexy, mind. A few artistic diagrams of what goes where, all very educational, but it seemed to be good enough for the vampire to press bodily against his back. It just made Finn smile harder.

“ _Prehensile_ ,” Poe purred, the other giggling at him. “Really, though, I didn't expect it to look different. With the amulet on, everything's the same as a human.”

“Magic,” Finn explained, then frowned. “Is it too much? A turn-off?”

The other choked and sputtered. “Are you _kidding_? No, it's not a turn-off. It's the polar opposite of a turn-off.”

Finn smiled, feeling tall and proud and maybe a little spoiled when he looked back at the article. There were clearly some logistics they'd have to think through here, and he was back to frowning but not feeling nearly as worried. “What about the scales? That'd be unpleasant, right?”

Poe was biting his lower lip when Finn looked at him. “I think I might be kinda into that, actually,” he said hoarsely before his eyes darted to Finn. “I mean- Yeah, I'm sure there are ways around that sort of thing. Or it wouldn't be a thing. Right? It's a thing, right?”

Hm... Finn propped his head against his palm. “That's something else we should probably talk about.” There had been clues here and there that he'd found. Poe eager to follow orders, wanting to please, adoring praise, loving the hell out of being a little rough. Since there were about 200 years of sex under his belt, literally, Finn wasn't so ignorant of the implications here.

Yet, Poe was somehow blushing. “I know. I mean, pain is like- I know it's-”

“It's _not_ weird,” Finn interrupted, tilting around to see him eye to eye. He didn't like to interrupt him like that, but putting himself down was where Finn drew the line. “It's normal, even. It's kink. That's okay.”

His boyfriend had that shining look in his eyes again, cheeks still dusted pink, lips parted just so. He looked shocked really. Then, eventually, “I wasn't going to say weird.”

The corner of Finn's mouth ticked up. “Sorry. What were you going to say?”

“I was going to ask if I can blow you,” he said instead, leaning forward to press their bodies together again, this time chest to chest. “Like this. Is that okay? We didn't really learn much, but I would really like to suck your dick if that's all right.”

Finn smiled at him, trying to tease but kind of failing with the body language. “I mean, I wouldn't say no. Might even be down for that.”

“Cool. That's cool,” Poe answered, rubbing a hand against the mermaid's ribs, making the other laugh at him. “I'm down for it, too. Obviously.”

The mermaid leaned forward to kiss him, making it deep and sweet. This whole thing weirdly felt like the _start_ of something rather than what they've continued to have. It was suddenly more. Different. Oddly familiar. Perfectly comfortable.

Poe's hand drifted lower, trailing gently down until he met Finn's erection peeking out of the slit in his hips. Air hissed through Poe's teeth at the contact, his hand slowly wandering over the head and shaft. Finn was delighted to see him enjoying this _so_ much, watching the other look away to see what his hand was doing. Poe tugged once, pulling a groan from the mermaid's throat before he started wiggling down.

Poe's lips on him now was vastly different from before. He felt more sensitive, much more hyper-aware. His dick _curled_ in Poe's mouth, the other moaning and pushing deeper.

As much as that was _blowing Finn's fucking mind_ , his hands gripped his lover's hair. “Not too far. I don't know if-” His words, a warning that maybe the movement could hurt Poe's throat, was drowned by the desperate groan. True to word, Poe didn't try to push deeper, but he did lavish his tongue against the head, swirling up and down the ridge and veins.

Seeing him grind into the blankets made Finn tilt his head skyward. But, no, he couldn't miss a second of this. He turned his eyes back to the show as much as it made him skim that edge. He palmed against Poe's cheek, rubbing himself from the outside, and Poe looked up at him with those great big eyes-

Finn fell flat on his back. “Oh _fuck_ , baby, this isn't going to last long.”

Poe just groaned in response and seemed to redouble his efforts. Finn gripped tighter into Poe's hair, unsure if he was intentionally spurring him on or not but the result was the same. He gritted his teeth, bit his lip, and eventually cried out to let his voice echo around them. “Poe, Poe, I'm- You shouldn't- Not-” _It's a lot_ , he wanted to say, but the words evaded him.

With what he _could_ say combined with a little more hair pulling, Poe did pull off. He didn't go very far, though, lips hovering over the head, hand a blur on Finn's cock. “ _Next time_ ,” he groaned, kissing the head. “Oh, please, please-”

That did it. With a jerk and a shout, Finn came, leaving ropes on Poe's cheek, lips, chin- The image did little to calm Finn down once it was said and done, his spend on Poe's hand, face, neck, parts of Finn's waist- He tugged him up, pulling Poe away from the cleaning attempts with his tongue, practically drowning him in a kiss.

He rolled them over, making Poe grind up into him. The other wasn't putting up a fuss about the scales. In fact, he was clawing along Finn's back, bucking into it for hardly five seconds before coming with a hard jerk of his hips. Poe groaned low and long as he drifted down from the high, Finn peppering his throat with kisses all the while.

He could see a lot of mind-blowing sex in their near future.

“Holy fuck,” Poe gasped. He licked his lips and paused long enough for Finn to stop and look at him. But Poe just looked back and said, “Holy fuck,” again.

* * *

It was the perfect day. And night. And date... Really, it was almost comical how their dates kept getting a little out of control like that, but Poe wasn't anywhere near complaining about it. After all, it was perfect.

They had talked for most of the day. About sex, love, the past, the future. The silences were filled with wandering hands, trailing lips, and very warm cuddles. They had learned a few things, too. They now knew that Poe had a _thing_ for Finn's tail. Not just the usual average thing but a full-on, holy fuck, best sex ever _thing_. They also knew that Finn had a little bit of a thing for shoving Poe around, for making it _really_ good. It was particularly special because he never stopped being sweet, making sure everything he was doing was something Poe was really wanting.

Their misadventures had been lazy compared to the mid-morning blowjob (the post-morning-sex sex, if you will) so nothing had been explored too thoroughly yet. It was a learning experience. Everything felt new and precious and a little fragile all over again. But it was so exciting. Poe was still worried, he always would be, but he couldn't recall the last time he was this excited. Or this happy. Maybe it wasn't carefree and it wouldn't always be easy, but this, Finn, was worth everything. Tenfold. This _day_ was worth everything.

He was holding Finn from behind, fingertips tracing shapes into his love's chest, smile embedded against his spine, and he'd been like that since the sun began to dip down. They had slunk out of the tent at some point, not wanting to botch their polish job again, and had been lounging in a warm tide pool along the rocks for a while now. The phone, their research on all of these new subjects, was put to the side as they snoozed the evening away.

Poe had absolutely no qualms about staying in the water like this. In fact, he couldn't imagine many better things right now.

But the phone ringing made Finn stir, _very_ much to Poe's displeasure. They had been so relaxed. But he loosened his grip around his love's arms so the other could reach the phone and answer that insistent noise. “Hello?”

Finn stilled, and Poe jerked to full awareness. “Oh... Yeah. Right.” His love moved the phone away to look at the number then rolled over enough to give him a sheepish smile. “It's for you.”

What? Poe blinked and warily put the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“ _I was just wondering what time you planned to be in to work, Dameron.”_

“Leia!” Poe sat up, making the pool slosh and Finn laugh. “ _Agh_ , I left my phone on the beach. But- Wait, no. It's Saturday. Is it Saturday?”

“ _It's Sunday, sweetheart.”_ He groaned, rubbing a wet hand against his face. _“I'll buy you about an hour. See you soon.”_

“Yeah,” he sighed, hanging up and handing the phone back. “I'm sorry she called you like that.”

“It's okay,” Finn laughed. “I'm kind of glad for it, actually. They need some way to reach us when we're... _well_.”

The end of Poe's lips tugged into a smile, his grin only growing the longer he looked down at Finn. He twisted around and slung a leg over the tail, bracketing his arms on either side of his love. “So, I have about an hour.”

“That a challenge?”

“Sounded like one to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dario is supposed to be DJ, but I have no idea how to incorporate that reveal. So I'm just telling you. Dario is meant to be DJ. I revealed Muran as a surname since that was how Poe always referred to him. One of those "only uses his given name when the situation is really bad" tropes.
> 
> There's just a mass of backstory in my head, guys. I'm sorry.
> 
> Anyway, here's some lighthearted stuff after last week's angsty stuff. Sorry for the slightly late delay, but I'm glad I didn't have to skip another week. Thank you for reading!


	30. Chapter 30

“I love my job.”

“Yeah?” Finn giggled, his laugh muffled with another kiss.

Poe was very busy struggling with his jacket while attempting to keep their lips melded together. They had finally made their way back to the beach, Finn seeing his boyfriend off like a proper date would do, but Poe didn't seem ready to go yet. At least part of him was trying.

“Love to fly. Love everything about it,” he murmured against Finn's lips between the soft, open kisses. “One of my favorite things.” One hand trailed down the scales on his ribs, the other cupping the back of his skull. “Don't really wanna get fired.”

“You should probably go, then.”

“Yeah, I-” Poe tilted forward on to his knees, giving up all pretense of leaving in favor of making the kiss just that much deeper. Finn had only barely pulled himself out of the surf, kind of half expecting this outcome but didn't want to be too much of a tease. Apparently, that had backfired. Poe was already caked in the salt and sand. He was _never_ going to make it to work on time. He did, however, pull away from the kiss for air. “I should probably go,” he muttered, leaning back in for another kiss.

Finn pinched the taunt skin under his arm, making him flinch away. “Go, Dameron,” he laughed, pulling back enough so he couldn't be caught again. “I like Leia. Don't make me steal away her best and brightest.”

“You have my full consent to steal me, though,” Poe answered, reaching his hands out to him like a child.

The mermaid just kissed one of the fingers. “Work.”

“Work!” Poe tilted back on the balls of his feet, looking towards the boardwalk without actually getting up. “I- I have to go to work. Right. Okay.” Finally, _finally_ , he stood again. A hand combed through his hair, not helping in the least, but his feet weren't moving yet. “I'll see you- When will I see you?”

Every time he asked that question, it was the sweetest thing all over again. Finn felt his smile soften just looking at his eager face. “Soon. I promise. I'll text you.”

Poe's lips twitched up at the corners of his mouth and he slowly began to walk back. “Okay. Soon. Okay.”

Finn was smiling hard enough to hurt before remembering something. “Oh, hey.” Poe stopped. “I love you.”

The pause was brief before Poe was running, splashing into the water and ignoring Finn's laughs and waving arms. “No, Poe! Go to work! You're getting soaked!” He knew the argument was thin. It wasn't like he was putting up a massive fuss against another kiss.

And another kiss he got. Poe's hands set themselves on either side of his jaw, holding him gently but steady, keeping him still enough for Poe to really set his tongue to work. A century probably passed between the time this started and when Finn gently untangled them.

But Poe said nothing. Merely, he backed away with the dopiest grin on his face, fingers skimming over and very slowly leaving Finn's skin. They didn't speak as Poe stumbled back on the beach, inching away like he was actually going to leave this time. Then, suddenly, he jolted with wide eyes and horror. “I didn't- _I love you, too!_ ”

Finn could only answer with a laugh for a moment. “I know!” As if it wasn't painfully obvious. But it was nice to hear. It was _so_ nice to hear. Even so, that wasn't a question in his mind right now. “I know you do.”

“Good.” Poe said, stepping back. “Because I do.” A few steps. “A lot.” A stumble. “I mean, not like too much, in a weird way.” A couple of more steps. “Just in a-” Another stumble. “I'm gonna go now.”

He just smiled after his boyfriend, restraining himself from mentioning that walking may be easier if he was facing the right way. “I'll see you soon, Poe Dameron.”

Poe visibly melted, his smile that much softer, and Finn might have found himself swooning a little bit from the expression alone. “I'll see you soon, Finn Midae.”

Biting his lip, not totally wanting to do this, Finn pushed back into the ocean so that maybe, by some miracle, Poe could get to work on time.

* * *

Leia had taken one look at Poe, a whole extra hour late for work, and let him pass with a warning of not making a habit out of this. But he wanted to. Oh, he wanted to make it a habit so badly. If it was up to him, he never would have left.

But that definitely would have been too clingy, right?

Didn't really matter. He did have his own things to do, even if Poe kept zoning out all night, purple scales and soft laughs swimming through his mind. Sometimes distraction would take hold, reminders of what he had to do coming back to the forefront of his mind, but Finn's smile often very easily took over.

By the time he got off of work and morning came around, Poe felt a little more level headed, just that much more back in his own body again rather than floating away on a sea of bliss. His fears, concerns, and all of the rationalizations in between were slowly trickling back in.

Which was how Poe found himself in the park where he had intended to take Finn all those nights ago. He had to admit that the pond in the center was much nicer during the day, what with the people and the birds. It was just wide and lonely at night, still and silent. Would that have been romantic or just unnerving? Had Finn's words been too quick?

Heart aching, he shook his head of distraction and zeroed in on his target.

Poe leaned his back against the railing by the pond, taking his sunglasses off without the water reflecting light in his eyes. “We need to talk.”

Ben's head whipped around comically fast, but Poe wasn't in a laughing mood. Neither was the cop, since he seemed to be on the stakeout for any misstep in behavior, taking above and beyond to a new height like always. But instead of asking anything, Ben scowled at him and looked back to the lake. “What do you want, Dameron?”

“What do you _think_ I want?” Ben's scoff only lead him to growl back. “You wanted to talk to me. Talk.”

“I never told anyone that I wanted to talk to you,” the other spat yet turned to face him. “That woman is trouble. If she comes back, I'm just supposed to rely on you? Her old war buddy?”

Poe wished this was really about Holdo but it wasn't. It was about everything. Like it always was. “What else are you going to do? The police barely have the means to capture a young vampire. You've never had to deal with an old one.”

“I deal with _you_ all the time.”

“No, you don't.” They had nothing that could restrain Poe, as far as he knew. Nothing that could stop him if he were truly on a rampage. Ben didn't know what he was capable of. Very few were anymore. But that's where he and Holdo divided. Poe was content enough with life. Amilyn never was. Sometimes, she liked to fill those cracks with blood. “It doesn't matter, anyway. She doesn't want to start a fight with me. She won't do anything here.”

Ben snarled. “Confident in yourself, huh?”

The vampire rolled his eyes. “We've fought before. Neither wins. It's tedious as shit. She has better things to do with her time.”

“I feel so safe,” he deadpanned. “Excuse me while I don't believe that the wolf is worried about the sheep.”

“I don't care what you believe,” Poe said, pushing off of the railing. “All I know is that I made the right decision when I told you no, if that's how you think.”

Ben did his best imitation of a growl, barred teeth, furrowed brow, the whole show. He looked like a child about to throw a tantrum. “Except _I_ would have used my abilities protecting this town and the people I care about. What the hell do you do all night? Go swimming?”

For a moment, just a flash, Poe saw red. Jaw locked, claws braced- But it was the middle of the day in this lovely park with families and children. And this was Leia's son. Not that he would kill him, but- Regardless, Ben's expression had changed, anger still there but hidden beneath very thinly veiled fear. He reeked of it. “I protect _them_.” He could hear the difference in his own voice, the graveled tones, the rage just beneath. “Stay _away_ from Finn.”

There was a beat where it almost seemed like Ben would comply for now, simple as that, but he was stubborn like the rest of his bull-headed family. The fear was still in his eyes, but his brow furrowed into a more controlled anger, like he couldn't _help_ but let his tongue go. “I'm not the one drinking his blood.”

That was probably his cue to leave. He had delivered his message, said his peace. It was high time to go. But he couldn't leave with a jab like that, about _Finn_ , being left unanswered. “Like you know anything,” he hissed back. “Like you're looking out for him at all.”

“Someone should,” Ben spat back, looking him up and down. “Don't your little love stories all end with corpses anyway?”

Poe was in his face before he could stop himself, before he could think at least half clearly. Ben was pushing a button that got a reaction, that's all. He was pestering, bullying, jabbing to find blood. Poe was just giving him what he wanted. He needed to leave. His eyes felt on fire anyway. This had taken too long. But none of that mattered. The other side, the less sane side right now, wanted to take this pup by the scruff of the neck and slam him into the concrete. “Keep on and there might be.”

“That a threat?” Ben pulled at his shirt, the camera clipped to his lapel.

_Someone_ was confident. But it was probably from a place of truth, because Poe backed off, anyway. Not for the camera. The camera was fucking laughable. For Leia. It was always for Leia. “You have shit with me, fine.” He replaced the glasses, putting his back to the water again. “Leave Finn out of it.”

The other sneered, the entire vision of unimpressed if it were to be believed. “I didn't bring him into it. You did.”

Fuck him. He wasn't worth it. “Heed my words,” he said, finally turning away, “or we'll have to have another chat.”

“I look forward to it, Dameron!”

* * *

Finn was lying belly down on the dock, the tips of his fingers dipping into the water while the other arm pillowed his head. As amazing as the last few days were, as beautiful as this day was, his mood was anything but.

It was his own mind working against him. Usually when insecurity struck, Finn was one to sweep it under a rug and fake it until he made it. This was... entirely different. This was important, seemed like. He cared so much about Poe. What the other man thought of him meant _so much_. And, yeah, sure, there was love there. That had been abundantly clear. But- Ugh.

“Are you even going to eat your fries?”

“Not hungry.”

He could feel Rey and Rose sharing one of their patented Looks over his back.

Rey sighed and tried to untangle his logic. “So, the guy you've been crazy about said the three little words, and you two spent a day or two hidden from the world in honeymoon bliss. I'm having trouble finding the flaw.”

Rose pressed her knee against his shoulder. “What aren't you telling us?”

“I told you everything,” Finn grumbled. “Even about the whole lifespan thing.”

There was a pause, probably another Look, then Rey spoke up. “You said he was relieved to hear it. Like, super relieved.”

“He was,” Finn said. He hadn't told them the part about Poe crying, about the clinging, about the fear in his eyes. That was intimate and private. That had only been for them. Still, none of it changed Finn's state of mind. “But he didn't know that before, and we still got really close. I mean, I've dated people outside of my own lifespan, but it never got that serious. But he's just as serious now as he was then. He said that he was willing to get hurt again, though, or something like that. He said that he loved me the whole time. It just doesn't make sense.”

The other two was silent, letting that air out a little, then Rose asked, “Are you scared he doesn't love you after all?”

“No. I know he does.” But that _was_ what he was scared about. Sort of. “In his own way. I think.” Finn groaned and rolled on to his back, nearly scattering his fries before one of the girls saved them. “I'm scared that you were right.”

This time, he got to see the Look in action. “About?” Rey asked.

He grimaced and licked his lips, really not wanting to spell it out. “What if his age _does_ make a big difference between us? What if he doesn't see relationships the way the rest of us sees them? What if he's not as serious as I am about us? What if he really expected this to not last all that long? What if it is just another drop in the bucket for him? What if I'm just another person passing by in-” Finn put his forearm over his eyes. “I don't wanna talk about it anymore.”

“But you said-”

“Finny,” Rose cut in. “On the few occasions I did see Poe Dameron, I can pretty much assure you that he's not looking for something short and sweet, even for an immortal. Ms. Organa even seems happier because he's so happy.”

Rey knocked her cup against his elbow. “Yeah, I mean, all of our mutual acquaintances won't shut up about how Poe's been so zoned out and lovesick. Karé told me that he makes himself hoarse some nights because he won't stop singing 80's love songs.”

“Like, I get what you're saying.” Rose shifted next to him, pausing for a beat. “Being worried comes with the whole deal, I think. But even I got convinced that I was wrong. Maybe he _does_ view things differently, but who doesn't? That doesn't mean that he's not crazy about you.”

“I agree with Rose. I think we pegged him wrong at the start. But _yo_ _u_ were the one defending him and now you've gone and changed sides. I think it's unwarranted. And I've only spoken to him once.”

“You know he loves you. Just go from there. Work on it and see where things go. If there's one thing I know he won't do, it's break up with you anytime soon.”

When Finn lifted his arm enough to peek at them, he caught two determined frowns and Rey's enthusiastic nodding. In truth... he did feel a little better. If only he knew how to talk to Poe about this one but maybe just time would tell. He needed to relax. Keep going. Enjoy what they had. “Thanks, guys.”

“Now eat your fries,” Rey said, balancing the pack on his chest.

As he was obeying, Rose scooted closer. “You never did tell us the details of the confession. Spill.”

Oh. Finn thought back, remembering Poe's red face, wide eyes- He had been terrified. But- Gosh. Finn smiled to himself. “He was adorable.”

The girls started in on a chorus of, “Tell us! Tell us!” Finn just laughed and ate his fries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think Ben and Poe are both handling this pretty badly, honestly.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	31. Chapter 31

_We need to ta_

_You know most people dont like the blood thing its okay if_

_How are you doing? I miss y_

_If something I do makes you uncomf_

_I know I have a lot of years on me and I need you to know that you can ask me anyt_

_I love you. How was your d_

_Dario died in a fire. Tomás was shot. Muran_

_We need to talk about Maul so that you understand what I_

_I think there's a storm coming in soon if you need a place to_

_Muran was the only person I ever offered to turn but he_

_Muran died 70 years ago and I still_

_I've never felt before what I feel for you. I'm terrified I'm going to ruin everything. I just want you to be safe and happy. I just want to be near you. I never want_

_When you're in the water, you're the most beautiful being in this universe. Your touch is gentle and firm. Your eyes are so soft and warm. Your smile blinds me like creation unfolding and I can't dare to tear my eyes away. Your laugh is so happy, the most amazing sound in the world, and I never want there to be a time where your laugh is gone from_

_I was thinking about getting some doughnuts. Do you want_

“Fuck!” Poe dropped his phone with both hands as if the thing had just caught fire. Rather, he wanted to bury it in a landfill and hide under his bed for a decade. Balancing cross-legged on the bed, elbows against his knees and fists against his eyes, Poe took a few measured breaths to calm down and think rationally.

As much as he hated it beyond all comprehension, Ben's words had gotten to him. While Finn did seem to enjoy the feedings quite a lot, Poe couldn't get the fact that he _was_ hurting him out of his head. Maybe not with pain but- There was _blood_ and- He hadn't had this existential crisis from biting people before, and Finn was more than grown enough to tell him to knock it off. He wouldn't continue to do something just because Poe liked it, right? But Finn was the one who asked for all of this in the first place and-

Poe pushed the heels of his hands into his eye sockets, bursts of white cracking over his vision. Finn had a longer lifespan than he originally thought, but he was still- What if something happened? What if Poe did something wrong?

Right. Nothing for it. He'd just have to pick up everything in the middle of the night and move back to Grytviken without telling anyone and then maybe they'd all forget he existed and move on with their lives without his curse of a life hanging over everyone's heads and Finn could meet someone that he deserved and Poe could drink fucking seal blood for the next 200 years-

The ringtone made him jump hard enough for the cat to skitter to the floor in panic. Leia's name was brightly lit on his screen. Fuck. Since she would just call back if he ignored it, Poe answered the call in an admittedly terse voice. “What?”

“ _What are you doing tomorrow night?_ ”

He blinked at the wall, spots still dancing in his vision. “I- What?”

“ _I'm politely asking what you're doing tomorrow night before I tell you that you have plans._ ”

“Leia-” His jaw snapped shut, teeth grinding. This _family_ , though! They were all about to make his head explode! When he spoke again, his voice was a great deal more measured. “Leia, you can't just keep volun-telling me to do shit. I have other things going on.”

“ _Oh, I know_ ,” she answered in the same tired tone. “ _Even I could have told you that threatening Ben was a bad idea. His darkness comes out when he feels cornered._ ”

Then he must feel cornered constantly. Poe rolled his eyes. “You talked to him?”

“ _No. He talked at me. But, Poe, if you actually listen to his words, he really does have some of his heart in the right place._ ”

“I'd hang up on you right now if I knew it wouldn't backfire horribly.”

Leia heaved a great sigh. “ _Ben's scared of you. And, no, he's not Finn's friend, but he's looking out for him in his own way._ ”

“Blood's made you blind, Leia.” Poe had known men like Ben before. Scorned, hungry, angry. Those end one way, and Leia knew that. It was because he was her _son_ that she saw something else. Or tried to. And, really, Poe wouldn't give much of a damn about him either way. He's met plenty of hungry people in war yet still walks the Earth. Poe didn't care about what Ben tried with him. He cared about what he tried _with Finn_. “He's not looking out for anyone but himself. Finn's a target for him to get to me, and I won't stand for it.”

“ _That's not what's happening._ ”

He took the phone away from his ear, debated hanging up, and brought the phone back. “What did you call for?”

“ _There's a gala tomorrow night for my museum_ ,” she continued easily. “ _I want you to be there. We're getting a few new pieces that I'm sure you'd like to see, too._ ”

Poe was quiet, waiting for her point to come about, but nothing did... “What's the catch?”

“ _No catch_ ,” she said, “ _but you'll need a date._ ”

Wow. Fuck. He rolled his eyes. “It's one thing to make _my_ schedule, but neither of us knows if Finn has plans and-”

“ _Sweetheart_.” Poe sighed and shut up. “ _I can feel your negativity from the other side of town. You're heartbroken, lonely, terrified-_ ”

“Leia-”

“ _It's different when you're with him_ ,” she said over him. “ _I've never felt your presence like that before. He makes you happy._ ”

“That doesn't mean I can just steamroll through his calendar like you do with mine.”

“ _I didn't say drag him there. All you have to do is ask._ ”

“He'll say no.”

Leia laughed. “ _All right. Ask someone else instead_.” Then she promptly hung up.

He leaned away, sneering at the phone. “Fuck.”

* * *

Despite Finn's internal worries about the stability of their relationship, he was determined to get back to his roots. Well, sort of. He was buying Poe a present. It was going to be great, something he'd really like, something he could use, something that wouldn't destroy Finn's bank account. Only... Poe was a pretty practical person and apparently had more than enough money to spare. What did you get someone who could have anything?

This was the precise reason he was taking Rose along. The guys would just tease him and Rey would get too carried away with it. Not that Rose wouldn't but she seemed to have a better sense about these sorts of things. Probably the magic or something.

But the magic was the exact reason why they had to stop somewhere first. He had only been to Leia Organa's home with Poe by his side, and while he liked the older fairy quite a lot, intimidating didn't even begin to explain her. “You sure this is okay?” he asked for the thousandth time since leaving the beach.

Rose groaned at the entrance, preparing to give him the same answer she'd been repeating, when the door opened without anyone having to knock. Right, he forgot about that. “Of course, it's okay,” a voice inside answered. “You can stop by anytime you like, Finn.”

“See?” the younger fairy muttered, sticking her tongue out at him and walking inside. “Ms. Organa, the new crystals had finished growing. I brought by a sample.”

Finn ducked inside, too, almost surprised that the place was still familiar. The outdoor patio where they had their tea that one time was separated from him by a wall of glass windows, illuminating the indoor area to seem like a totally different place in the daylight. Last time, Finn hadn't noticed the antique sitting area or the ornate staircase leading up to a landing on the second floor. While different, the home was just as impressive in the day as it was at night.

“Show me what you have,” Leia answered, taking the last few steps off of the staircase to meet them. Rose bounced over, pulling a satin bag from her purse and showing off her small collection.

A little ignored but not terribly beside himself about it, Finn wandered over to the seating area, not planning on using the ancient furniture for a second. Rather, he was more interested in looking at it. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that any of this was faked. If Poe had wealth, Leia was presumably rolling in it. How long had Poe said he'd known her? Since meeting Dario? From the very loose timetable in Finn's head, he reasoned that was probably a hundred years or so, maybe more.

Which brought him back around to why she was so intimidating. Yes, the power and recognition were already more than enough to make him a little nervous around her but that wasn't even the half of it. She was Poe's oldest friend, might as well be his family. If _she_ didn't like Finn, well- But she seemed to so far... His finger traced the engravings along the trim of an armchair, trying to make himself not worry.

“You can take a seat if you like.”

Her closeness startled him out of the swirling thoughts, and he turned to find Leia approaching while Rose stood behind her, counting the crystals in her palm. Finn shifted in place. “Oh, I'm okay. I was just looking at the furniture. They look like antiques.”

A smile graced her lips as she looked around them, from the armchairs to the delicate looking coffee table. “I suppose they are now. The table was a gift from one of Poe's friends in Italy. But-” She waved a hand in the air, chuckling to herself. “I won't bore you with it. How have you been?”

_Anything_ about Poe's past wasn't boring, even if it was just a table. “You're not,” he argued with a shake of his head but did answer her question. “I've been well, though. Rose and I were just going shopping today.”

“Oh?” Her eyes were still laughing but not in a mocking sort of way. She seemed to be enjoying the conversation in a way he didn't understand. But then Leia sat and waved to the chair next to her, the one he'd been poking at. “What for, if I may be so bold?”

Despite what he had said before, Finn sat. She could probably help him on this search, now that he thought about it. “I was going to get a gift for Poe.” Leia outright laughed again, so he continued on in the weird attempt to defend his actions. “He already bought me some things. I wanted to repay him.”

“I'm sure he'd love that,” she said after the laugh, heaving a happy sigh. “I've told you before, though. He's more of a sentimental person than a material one. He'd love anything you gave him. Another seashell wouldn't be out of the question, I'd imagine.”

“Maybe...” But how to say this? “The seashells are things I find, though. I know they-... Well, they hold some meaning for me, but Poe's actually spent _money_. I don't want it to seem like-... I want to get him something _nice_. He deserves nice things.”

She hummed, leaning her head against her hand and starting to look a bit like she was mocking him after all. “Short of suggesting a nice case for his shells, I'm not sure. I know he could probably use a new cravat...” Then she came out of her thoughts and blinked at him. “He treasures those shells from you, though. I know he'd love to have another for his collection.”

Would he? They were just litter to humans, right? But Poe really did seem to like them a lot from what Finn had seen. Maybe more shells would be okay. A game plan in mind, he nodded. “Thank you.”

Leia hummed and nodded back. “He really should take you out properly sometime, though. And if you have nothing to wear, I think Han used to be about your size.” A hand to her chin, she gave Finn a cursory look. “Probably scrawnier than you, but I can make it work.”

Okay, now he was lost. “Um-”

“I'm ready,” Rose announced with a big smile as she entered their bubble. “Everything good?”

Oh, right! Finn hopped to his feet. “Yeah! We're- It was good to see you, Ms. Organa.”

“Always good to see you, Finn,” she answered, rising out of the chair a little slower. “Please, stop by any time. I enjoy your company.”

“Yes, ma'am,” he said through a blush and allowed himself to be dragged out of the house by a smirking Rose.

They weren't even to the curb yet before her smirk turned towards him. “Well? Do you know what to get now?”

“Um, yeah.” Wait, had all this been planned? He glanced back to the house, absently hearing the phone chime in his pocket. “She said he might like a new cravat? And another shell maybe.”

“I think a seashell is always the way to go,” she continued while he dug the phone out. “I mean, it really is so romantic. His mermaid boyfriend gives him seashells as gifts. That's so cute!”

“I'm not cute,” he grumbled, his face going hot again. But he distracted himself with the text, happy that he and Poe finally traded numbers and got rid of Q-Pid's fun little quotes. Though he had to read the text twice to make heads or tails of it.

_I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you'd look incredible in a suit but a lot of people aren't comfortable wearing one and I know all of that stuff can be a hassle anyway but I should make an appearance and I can't imagine asking anyone else so if you'd like to go I'd really_

The text just ended in the middle of a thought. Finn stopped walking, gaining Rose's attention. Then another text came in.

_I did not mean to send that_

Then another.

_How are you?_

And another.

_I'm doing great_

And they just kept coming.

_Love you_

_I'm so sorry_

_Hope you're having a good day_

_Great weather we're having_

_Lots of sun_

_That came out wrong_

_Love you_

_Sorry_

“What's up?” Rose asked, a little worried about his phone blowing up.

She wasn't the only one worried. “One second,” he answered, walking away to give himself a little space.

* * *

“Lots of sun,” Poe told BB. “Lots of sun? What does that mean? Lots of sun? Who says that?” He _might_ have been on just this side of bursting into tears, but the vampire was still trying really hard to fix this mess.

He was a third of the way through typing up something else – probably something equally dumb, but he wouldn't know because he barely gave it a glance – when the text vanished and a phone call took its place.

It was Finn.

The gasp Poe took probably could have collapsed the lungs of a mortal man. But he couldn't _not_ answer, so the phone was against his ear in the span of a heartbeat. “Hello?”

“ _Are you okay?_ ”

“Of course, I'm okay!” Great. He worried him. Fantastic. Wonderful. Incredible. “I'm great. I'm doing great. How are you doing? Were you busy?”

“ _I'm not busy_ ,” Finn answered steadily but he didn't really sound overly enthusiastic either. Fuck! Poe couldn't ask him now! “ _Just wanted to make sure you were all right. What's this about suits, though?_ ”

“Nothing.” Dammit. Dammit. Stop lying. “It was something dumb. Something stuffy. I don't know if you'd be into that kind of thing. I didn't- I thought I'd ask anyway but I didn't know- It's okay if you don't- I mean, it's not a big deal. It's not even in the realm of a big deal.”

“ _What is it?_ ”

Poe grimaced, kicking his feet against the bed. “A gala. For the museum. That one we went to-” On their first date. Oh, God. “The one with the shuttle. I mean, it's a _gala_ , though. I haven't been to something like that in- I just thought I'd ask. I didn't know- It's _tomorrow_ , though. Not like there's a lot of notice.”

“ _I've never been to something like that before._ ” Poe opened his mouth to tell him that he'd never have to if he didn't want to but then- “ _What time?_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Grytviken is an abandoned whaling port on the island of South Georgia between South America and Antartica. Can't get much more away than that.
> 
> And now the boys are gonna dress up. Thank you for reading!


	32. Chapter 32

Finn was reasonably sure that his gifts would go over pretty well. He had followed Leia's advice, anyway, not that he would blame her if things fell through. The first gift was the cravat, an almost royal blue with a lighter colored diamond pattern, still in the box packaging. The other was the new shell, a nautilus one this time. It wasn't very large but was big enough to fit in the palm of his hand, the red stripes along its spine giving a different texture to the others.

Speaking of the others, these two gifts seemed to be far more important than anything to come before. This _evening_ felt far more important. Probably because this was his first time wearing anything like this. Formal wear beneath the ocean wasn't nearly as meticulous or _stuffy_ as anything these land dwellers wore. _Ugh_ , and now he was thinking the term land dwellers unironically, too.

If the point was to look good, Finn wasn't sure if he'd hit the mark. He pulled at his collar again, _hating_ this.

“Stop fussing.”

Finn nearly jumped a mile high from Leia's voice suddenly right next to him. Then immediately felt like an idiot, knowing she didn't need magic to spook him right now.

After getting details out of Poe – which, for the record, he'd known barnacles that gave up easier – he found himself back in Leia's home the following afternoon, taking her up on the offer and getting ready for that evening. He had been brought to a room by the fairy and grumbling ghost himself as they picked out clothes for him and bickered at each other, both of which they seemed to enjoy in equal amounts. It had been hard to be nervous around them, but they eventually left him to his own devices so he could change. That's when all of the second thoughts invited themselves in.

What if Poe only kinda liked his present? What if Poe didn't think he looked good in this suit? What if Poe didn't want to go to this gala at all? What if Poe- And on and on, of course.

“Sorry for scaring you, but I did announce myself first,” Leia continued, situating him to face her so she could fiddle with his collar instead.

Finn just tried to use the new shell as a stress ball. “No, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention. Where'd Solo go?”

“When he was still a man, Han had this amazing ability to vanish whenever formal occasions arose. Seems the technique followed him to the afterlife.” Leia removed the tie he had just spent a good fifteen minutes getting on and undid the first couple of buttons of his shirt to give him just enough space to breathe again. “There. Feel better?”

“I-” He hadn't expected to get even slightly undressed by Leia Organa today. “Yeah, but- Don't I need the tie?”

She draped the offending fabric over her shoulder, stepping back to study him. “Not if you're going to be yanking on it all night. Besides, you don't need it. It's formal but not that formal.”

“But doesn't it matter?” To Poe, he meant. Shouldn't he look his best for Poe tonight? Didn't the tie have to be included in that? He'd never understand land dweller fashion logic- _Ugh!_ He was thinking it again!

“Not really,” she said with a laughing smile. “Besides you look great. And your date's here, anyway.”

Wait, what? He hadn't planned for that. He thought- Oh, no. A hand smoothed over his hair, catching himself in the mirror. “Poe's here?” At least he was aware of his nervous state, sure that it would end as soon as Poe's verdict on his looks tonight arrived. Geez, when did he start caring about vanity to this degree? It was probably only because he looked ridiculous, wearing these fine clothes that weren't even his. It was a more or less simple ensemble, black on black everything, though the jacket had a purple sheen to it in the right light. It complemented the scales peaking out on his neck, but he was pretty sure _this_ hadn't belonged to Solo.

Leia pulled him back from his thoughts. “He's in the next room,” she answered, thumbing at the wall behind her. “I told you he's not much for material objects? Poe has a tendency to leave things behind in life. I've taken the liberty to store some of his things away. In this case, he's squirreling out some nice clothes for tonight.”

“He's still getting ready?” Finn smoothed down the front of his jacket. Also, why was Leia only just telling him that Poe was here _now_? Okay, maybe that was unreasonable.

“Go say hi. He's decent,” she said with a smirk, walking out of the room.

Right, yeah, okay, he could do that. He could walk over and speak to his boyfriend. No problem. He took a deep breath and grabbed up the packaged cravat sitting on the chair. “Okay, here we go.” Best to get the initial meeting over with, anyway, so Poe could have plenty of time to scrutinize his outfit.

Though, Finn kind of liked the way he looked. If only he was pulling it off better. But anyway.

Armed with his gifts, he left the room to find the next door over ajar. He peeked inside, meaning to knock on the door frame, and stopped dead.

Poe stood on the other side of the room near the window, only barely in the light of the setting sun but enough for Finn to see the navy blue suit. Though, it was hardly an actual suit like Leia had thrown on Finn. It looked far more comfortable with the blazer in a woven texture and a dark corduroy vest beneath. He was stunning in the moment, adjusting something on the cuff of his sleeve.

Finn licked his bottom lip, hid the gifts behind his back with both hands, and cleared his throat.

As soon as the other spotted him, his eyes went wide in shock and lips slowly pulled into a bright smile. “Finn!” In about two and a half steps, Poe was across the room, and Finn had to almost jump to not meet him right at the threshold. “You- Hi, I- When did you get here?” Poe winced, his smile only barely dimming. “Sorry, I mean- I didn't know you were here.”

Convenient, that. Also convenient that Poe's outfit matched the cravat. But he could be suspicious later. For now, he just greeted his boyfriend with a happy grin of his own. “Leia's letting me borrow some clothes for tonight.” Poe's smile fell a bit, so Finn barreled the conversation forward, not sure what he said wrong. “You look great! You look incredible, Poe.”

“I-” The vampire turned a dull red, flattening his palm over the vest again and again. “Finn, you- Sweetheart, I don't _compare_ to you tonight. You're beautiful.”

Oh. Beautiful was new. Even though he could feel his face burning, there was nothing he could do to suppress the budding smile. “Thank you.” He definitely felt better about his appearance now, anyway. But it was still a little embarrassing. _Beautiful_. Like this? He wasn't sure how to take that. But Poe thought his tail was lovely, so, it's not- Well. Okay, process later. Finn pulled one of the gifts to his front, the cravat. “I got you something.”

Poe's dinner-plate-wide eyes were reminiscent of the last time he had gotten a shell. He looked genuinely shocked even though it had to be obvious that Finn was hiding something. Still, Poe blinked owlishly at the little box, his hand reaching for it but not quite there. “You didn't- Finn, you didn't have to get me anything.”

“I wanted to.” He'd been wanting to for awhile. “Do you like it?”

“Of course! I- Of course, you- I love it, I just- _Thank you_.” Well, it certainly seemed to be a hit. Poe even took it from him and carefully opened the package, pulling the cravat out with a hesitant smile. His eyes seemed happy, though, and Finn didn't want to overthink it. “I didn't get you anything,” Poe answered, his voice breaking slightly at the end as he wound the cravat around his neck.

Did he... feel bad? That seemed to be his typical mode, didn't it? Finn squeezed the shell in his fist and frowned. “But you did. I'm still going through that tin of polish, and the lotus never gets dull. Every time I put it in a new spot, it's like a whole new rainbow.” Which was true. He enjoyed experimenting with different placements and positions back home. “You deserve this.” Poe deserved a hell of a lot more.

“I-” The other finished the knot and audibly swallowed, fidgeting with his hands. “Thank you,” he said in one sigh.

“You're welcome.” Though, now Finn was thinking that maybe gifts were too overwhelming. He'd have to come up with better, more appropriate ideas to show his appreciation next time. For now, he had to get this over with. So he pulled forward his other arm, which had also been very obviously behind his back the entire time. “I got you this, too.”

For some reason, he was way more worried about this one.

Apparently, for good reason. Poe seemed to stop breathing when his eyes fell on the shell, whole body frozen. Finn bit his lip, debating the correct choices here, when he spotted a dampness coming to Poe's eyes.

Fuck. Right. Okay. “Too much.” He quickly took his hand back, hiding the shell against his chest. “I'm sor-”

“No!” Poe's hands fell on his arm, tugging gently to pull the shell back. “No, no, no. I'm just- I'm sorry, I didn't- Finn-” He swallowed thickly and looked up to him with the most loving, warm, tearful eyes Finn had ever seen in his life. “I love you.” Finn quickly brought him in for a hug, holding him tight, Poe's soft voice in his ear. “Thank you.”

* * *

He'd made a fool of himself so far, but Poe was hopeful that he could salvage this evening. Shell tucked safely away in his jacket pocket and eyes now dry, he walked into the museum only to find what he already knew. Finn was _by far_ the most beautiful person in the building. None of them held a candle to the man on his arm, and he hoped desperately that they all knew it.

In the past, these things were always so stuffy, not that he'd been to very many. Most of them had been benefits for Leia's new projects or projects of her friends. Others had been nonsense for his military service that he stopped going to decades ago. But if Finn looked like this every time, wide-eyed with wonder and a delighted smile, then he'd have to start obeying the invites again.

“Do you know anyone here?” Finn asked with a slightly nervous laugh.

That wouldn't do. “Probably not,” he answered, not even glancing around. He took his love's hand, threading their fingers together. “Doesn't matter. Let's have fun tonight. Drink some fancy drinks. Eat a fancy meal. Get some real food after we sneak out.”

“That does sound like a fun night,” Finn answered, looking back to him with that wonderful confidence again. Then his eyes trailed down, gaze a little hungry. “I think we'll have plenty of fun.”

Wherever _that_ came from, it made Poe shiver from his crown to his toes, a smirk growing on his face. He took a look at his love, too, enjoying the cut of his figure and the glimmer of his scales. “Can't help but agree.”

“She invited you two?”

Poe's smile fell, though he hoped that Finn hadn't caught that before the mermaid glanced away. He turned to look at Ben, too.

They had only _just_ gotten there, not even halfway between the entrance and tables before he'd found them. Leia must have known he would be here. Hell, _Poe_ should have known. What the hell was she up to? His confusion didn't help settle the scowl, though.

Ben just frowned back, the picture of relaxed in his all black suit and tie costume. There was tension in his jaw, though, and Poe could see the anger in his eyes.

“Hey, Ben,” Finn answered in a conversational tone, lightly squeezing Poe's hand. “You here for work or as a guest?”

“A guest,” the other sighed, taking a long moment to look from Poe to the man he was actually speaking to. That just made the vampire scowl harder. “I don't suppose you're a beneficiary? Not some secret billionaire, are you?”

“I'm Poe's plus one for the evening,” his love answer, raising their joined hands as if to show them. It must have taken effort because Poe was wound incredibly tight.

Ben hummed to himself. “Weird. I asked because I know _Poe_ doesn't donate.”

Dammit all. Fuck him. “Do you?” Poe growled.

“I don't have tons of money stashed away under my floorboards, Dameron.”

“Why do you even _think_ I don't donate? How do you think she got all the antique planes from the war?”

“You know, after fighting in about three wars voluntarily, people start losing track of which one you're talking about.”

“I was in _four_ of them, Ben. You want me to show you what I've learned?”

“So, anyway!” Finn cut in, squeezing Poe's hand like the circulation was going to cut off. “We heard that the shuttle was going to go back to wherever shuttles go back home to soon, so we thought we'd go say bye to it before dinner. C'mon, Poe. Let's go see it.” Though he did make quite the tug attempt on Poe's arm, the vampire didn't budge this time.

But Ben looked back to him with a grimace. “Yeah, fine. I'll see you two later.” Then he turned, nose in the air, and left.

The breath rushing out of Poe's lungs did nothing to calm his nerves. _Every single_ instinct in his body told him that Ben was a threat, to eliminate the threat, but- He started taking another deep breath.

Finn's other hand touched his arm, tugging much lighter now. “C'mon, Poe,” he urged more gently.

Suddenly feeling chastised, all of the fight bleeding from him in an instance, Poe followed quietly. The rage might have left him tense but now there was just flooded shame there. Finn was disappointed in him.

But no sooner than they'd turned the corner to the hall, away from any peering eyes, Finn stopped them. “You okay?”

“I'm fine,” he quickly lied, closing his eyes.

“You want to leave?”

But he had to look to Finn at that one. “No! I-” His love had no anger in his eyes, no disappointment. He looked worried. “I'm sorry.” The worry was almost worse.

“You didn't do anything wrong,” Finn said, though it kinda felt like he had. Before he could argue the point, his love's lips met his in far too sweet a kiss. The moment stretched on, the world settling to just the two of them again, like nothing else really mattered. When his love finally did break away, his eyes were assessing and lips were smiling. “We'll have fun, remember? One way or another.”

“Yeah,” Poe breathed out, still lost in the memory of their kiss. The tension gone, he felt like he could float away on happiness again. How did Finn even manage to do that to him? He pressed his forehead against his love's, feeling the weight of everything else fall away. “Did you want to see the space shuttle?”

“Mmm...” Finn glanced away, his eyes blurry dots this close but his smile stayed. “I've seen it,” he finally answered, nuzzling closer and pulling a laugh out of Poe. “It is pretty cool, don't get me wrong. But between the two of you, I know what I like staring at more.”

Kissing Finn through a smile was pretty difficult, but Poe was determined to learn with enough practice. “Let's get those fancy drinks I told you about.”

The carefree look on his love's face turned back into concern again. “You sure you want to go back already?”

“If you do,” he answered, being honest this time. “I'm here to have fun with you. I plan to do that.” And Ben can fuck off. The mess between them wasn't going to ruin tonight.

With a relieved, soft smile, Finn wrapped his arm around Poe's lower waist and walked them back into the party, weaving them through the people like he'd done so all his life to get to the temporary bar. Honestly, Finn looked like he belonged in his environment, head high, strikingly beautiful, eyes only on Poe. By the time they made it to the bar, he buried his grin into Finn's neck as his love ordered whatever he wanted.

All thoughts of Ben were gone from his mind in the face of his love's light.

* * *

Poe had ended up in an enthralling yet really boring conversation with Leia over what new piece she was bringing to the museum, and Finn had gotten to talk and charm a few of the other patrons. After a moment, he found the opportunity to sneak away.

Ben wasn't hard to find. He was smoking right outside the entrance, probably just inches away from the non-smoking zone. With the doors pushed wide open, all Finn had to do was poke his head out and say, “You're an asshole.”

“You're dating a predator,” Ben replied nonchalantly, taking another drag of his cigarette.

Finn's eyebrow twitched and he counted down from three before continuing. “You don't have to bait him like that. And how is saying he fought in multiple wars even an insult?”

“Because he enjoyed it,” the other answered, flicking the ashes.

“Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were there.”

“And now you're learning his sarcasm, too. The conditioning's getting deep.”

“ _Ben_ -” No. Stop. Okay. Breathe. Finn tried again. “Is this about being told no? Because it seems like it's more than that.”

At least that got a proper reaction. Ben jolted, his eyes turning to steel. “We don't _talk about_ \- You know what?” He huffed, throwing the remains of his cigarette on the ground and stomping on them. “I give up on you.”

“Good. I'd still like to know why you were so obsessed in the first place.”

“Because,” Ben answered through clenched teeth, grinding his shoe into the very dead cigarette, “it's my job to protect everyone in this town. And _Poe_ is a ticking time bomb. No, no. A warhead. He's a freaking nuke. And now he's _dating_? Do you _know_ how old he is? Like, have you comprehended that? What if he gets possessive? What if you two have a fight? It's more than just your head he'll roll, I promise. I'm sure he's slaughtered more for less.”

Finn glowered at him. But the keywords were in there, weren't they? “You're sure.” He shifted his jaw. “You don't know anything about him.”

“I know more than you.” He stomped his foot on the ground one more time, the cigarette butt not much more than a smear now. “I've heard the stories, the theatrics, the _hero_ shit. Ask him about France. Or Poland. Ask him about the covens and the camps. Ask him-”

“Fuck off, Ben.” He didn't appreciate these sorts of jabs poking at the unknown. Finn trusted Poe and that was enough. The private matters could remain private for all he cared. If Poe wanted him to know, then he'd know, curiosity aside. Finn turned to go back inside. “Just leave him alone. You're not helping anything.”

“Don't come crying to me when shit gets real,” Ben said to his retreating back.

Finn just rolled his eyes and wound his way back through the crowd, painting on a small smile as he rejoined Poe's side with a hand to the small of his back. The vampire, thankfully, lit up. “Hey, _cariño_ ,” he greeted with a kiss on the cheek. “Leia said they're adding in a decommissioned F-117 Nighthawk with the money and getting another thing from NASA soon. An Apollo thingy, I think?”

He had no idea what an F-117 Nighthawk was, but his smile and laugh were suddenly genuine. He ignored Leia's amused yet knowing smile and pressed his forehead against Poe's temple. “That's great, babe. I can't wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay again! I've been so distracted lately, oof.
> 
> Another chapter featuring Ben being a dick but never fear. We have a few mountains of fluff coming our way. You can't really expect them to be dressed like that and keep their hands to themselves.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	33. Chapter 33

Despite all possible opportunities to the contrary, the gala had been kind of fun. It wasn't really the party that made it. The food was small, the people were stuffy, and the liquor was too expensive for what you got. But Finn had enjoyed it. The cut he made in that suit of his was quite attractive but the way he talked to people was even better. He had an air of confidence about him, and people couldn't help but seem to hang on his words, as if they had fallen a little bit in love with him on the spot.

Poe was grinning to himself as they walked down the street, hands around each other's waists. They had managed to get some burgers near the beach and had been walking aimlessly in silence ever since, bursts of conversation interrupting sporadically. Finn had gotten a little tipsy at the gala, just enough to keep a lovely grin on his face, so Poe steered them around to wherever he liked.

Though... he did have an idea that he hadn't mentioned yet. To be more accurate, he hadn't found the gumption to mention it.

But better to do so now rather than never, he presumed. With a bite of his lip, he tried to begin. “So, you look really handsome tonight.”

Finn's grin just got wider. “Thank you. And you look incredible, by the way.”

“Thanks,” Poe laughed as his love put his head on his shoulder. The angle was a little awkward, but neither cared. “I was thinking... since we're all dressed up... I'd treat you to other nice things?”

“Oh?”

He couldn't see but the image of Finn's raised eyebrow was blazing through his mind. “Yeah, like- Okay, what were your plans for tonight?”

Finn laughed, deep and quiet and warm. Poe's nerves were nothing to the love bursting in his chest from the sound. “My plan was to ask what your plans were then go along accordingly.”

“Right,” Poe laughed back. Because of course, his love was sweet and open to new ideas. Poe was still trying to grasp that. “But I, uh- Tell me if it's too much.” He paused, waited for any reaction, and continued when there wasn't one. “I _might_ have rented us a room for the night in that ritzy hotel downtown.” Finn suddenly stood straight, and Poe hurriedly tried to correct himself. “I- I _might_ have. I mean, we don't- Obviously, I didn't ask you. Like I thought maybe a surprise but I wasn't sure, so there may or may not be a room rented if you were amendable but if you weren't then that's okay, too. I mean, it's dumb, right? We _live_ here. Why did I-? It was dumb. I'm sorry. Forget-”

“ _Poe_. Poe.” Finn stopped them on the sidewalk, holding Poe's hands tight in his with a smile that didn't seem all that sure of itself. “Did you really?”

“I _might_ have,” he repeated. “I just as easily could not have. Or did. Or didn't.” The sea shell was heavy in his pocket and the cravat was stifling. He never wanted Finn to think that he _owed him_ anything, but the lotus was mentioned in the wake of the little gifts. It both weakened his resolve about the room (because he could never guilt Finn) and hardened it (because Finn deserved everything). He had pushed it from his mind, opting to just not go, but _Finn deserved everything_. Poe would feel awful if he had a gift and never handed it over.

Finn's smile was small now but confident as he slid closer into the space between them. “Well, you didn't have to,” he said, batting his eyelashes in a way he couldn't possibly have done intentionally. “But since you might have done, I can't possibly stand letting it go to waste.”

He was fine with it? “Yeah? I mean, I- The last thing I want is- You deserve it. Or something else that you like. You deserve whatever. But you don't have to if you don't want to just because you think I want to because I just want to do whatever you want to do-”

As gentle as Finn's lips were against his, the kiss brought his ramblings to a stop. After Finn pulled away, it took him a beat or so to open his eyes and face his love's beautiful smile. “I want to,” Finn quietly reassured him, shifting closer into his space. “It's a thoughtful gift. And besides, you should be on a fancy bed when I finally get these nice clothes off of you.” His finger glided between the space where his collar met the new cravat. “Provided you're okay with messing up a few thousand thread count sheets tonight, of course.”

His mouth had gone dry. “It's this way.” The streetlights flickered, cloud covering the moon and stars above as he held his love's hand tight in his and walked through the quick and rare instance of real darkness on the street. Finn followed him, as if it were ever put to question, and they both stepped into the automatic door and blinding lights of the hotel's lobby. Poe made a quick beeline from the entrance to the desk, keeping his love's hand grasped in his, his mind stuck on the singular track of getting himself on to that bed so Finn could do everything he wanted. “Hi,” he greeted the employee, probably looking a little crazed.

“Poe, what just happened?” Finn asked, but he hardly heard.

“We have a reservation under Dameron. It's supposed to be one of the suites on the-”

“No, Poe, wait, seriously. What just happened?”

* * *

His boyfriend hadn't been very forthcoming about the, uh, teleporting incident? Is that what it was? All Finn knew was that they were standing on the sidewalk then walking into a hotel... on the other side of town. The whole instance took hardly a blink, and he was _almost certain_ that he hadn't just blacked out during the entire walk.

Poe seemed oddly chill about it, though, opening their suite door with a happy flourish that wasn't usually typical of him. Then his usual nature came back just as the thought entered Finn's mind. “Is this okay? Do you like it?”

“Do I like it?” Did he like the gigantic bed, the outdoor balcony, the glimpse of the massive hot tub in the next room? “Are you kidding? This is incredible.” It didn't even look fake high class either. The room was lit in a quiet ambiance, the windows at the balcony tall and ornate, curtains and carpet both equally thick and lush with color. And the _bed_. He could live in that bed. As usual, the cost of all this rushed to his mind despite how he tried to push it away. Worry about that later, he scolded himself. Enjoy Poe's gift tonight. Let him enjoy it. “I _love_ it, Poe. Thank you so much.”

“Don't thank me,” he answered easily, pressing another kiss against his lips. “I should treat you nicer. Should have done all this ages ago.”

“Nah,” he told him, squashing those notions down with another kiss and kicking the door closed behind them. “I love it, I really do, but I love you more. What we do is already perfect.”

As Finn walked forward, Poe walked back, their arms tangling together to paw at the other's shirt- chest- buttons. “It is,” the vampire agreed, another rarity. “I can raise the bar, though. And I will. Every time.”

That was hard to argue with, really. As much as Finn treasured their previous dates and hangouts, it seemed like every new moment was another first. Every instance was a singularity, special and unique and perfect, made just for them. So he kissed him instead of arguing.

Despite the warmth blooming in his chest and Poe's clever fingers already peeling away buttons, he really had to put a pause on this. His hands met Poe's long enough to still them. “This is amazing, but I have to know what happened back there.”

His boyfriend's warm, lidded eyes met his, and Finn kinda wanted to just ignore the blacking out episode a little bit. But Poe finally looked concerned. “When?”

Um... “When... we got to the hotel? Between being by the beach then being downtown almost instantly? Am I going crazy here?”

Poe's brows furrowed, and Finn willed himself to not start panicking. “What do you mean? I just took- _Oh_.” His eyes widened and his body went rigid, his hands leaving Finn's and finding the roots of his own hair. “Oh _no_ , I never showed you! I'm such an idiot! You must have been so freaked out! I can't believe I just did that!”

“No, no! It's okay!” So long as Finn didn't just put a mental block on a full twenty minutes, then this was fine. “I'm just confused. I mean, I did kinda think I was going crazy or something-”

“And you kept _asking_. I didn't-” His hands pressed against his face, muffling his voice. “God, I'm such a moron.”

“No, you're not.” But despite him trying to pull Poe's hands apart, there was no luck when a vampire didn't want to budge. “I have a theory?” he tried instead. “It's a power of yours that you're so used to and ingrained with that you forgot people might not know about it.” Like the red eyes. Like all of the other things Finn didn't know about him.

“Maybe.”

As he spoke, Finn was finally able to wiggle his fingers between Poe's hands and pull them apart far enough to kiss his lips. “I want to see. I want to know more about you.” Poe finally revealed himself, looking quite shocked, and Finn backpedaled. “Is that prying?” The whole point of why he didn't ask weeks ago was because he wanted Poe to have his privacy about things. That said, the issue had come up and his boyfriend looked pretty embarrassed about it, so...

“No!” Poe immediately replied. “It's not prying. It's- I mean, it's scary. People usually think it's scary. In their context, to be fair- But it's creepy. It's all creepy. I don't want to freak you out. I wasn't thinking back there.”

“You _won't_ freak me out.” He had to make that clear, put it out there and be sure that Poe understood. But it was always hard to be sure. “You don't have to tell me anything that you don't want to, but if you ever _do_ want to, I'd love to know. I'd always love to know.”

The vampire's eyes slowly shifted from a mild panic to the melting warmth that looked like he was about to burst into tears, a look Finn was starting to get used to as a good thing. Poe just cared so much, and the love he held always seemed to be visibly bursting at the seams. For now, he audibly swallowed and took Finn's hands again. “You remember when Holdo paid a visit? It's a lot like that.”

The lights? “The electricity?”

“Ah, not- Sort of? But it's not really- It sounds kind of stupid.”

“I bet it doesn't.”

That earned him a bashful smile as Poe bit his lip in thought. Then, finally, he stepped closer. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course. You know that.” Should have been a little obvious by now, but any concern he might have felt from the question was replaced by excitement. “Will you show me?”

“I just turn the lights out, but-” Poe huffed and clasped their hands tightly together, biting his lip again. “You'll see.”

True to his word, the lights did begin to dim. Power hummed all around them until the noise stopped and the room had gone dark. Finn smiled, delighted that Poe was okay with showing him this, but started when the streetlights outside went out, too. The light from beneath the closed door, the light filtering from the buildings across the street- Everything was slowly getting snuffed out until all that remained was the moon and stars, but even that seemed to vanish right before his eyes until there was nothing. No light, no _sound_ , absolutely nothing.

He had been to some of the deepest parts of the Atlantic, had skimmed across the ocean floor far deeper than someone probably should. The amulet did nothing to hinder his sight, but he couldn't see anything in this. It was more than just darkness, though. It was suffocating, lonely, muffled, a place where his own thoughts were too loud. As someone who's had all of the ocean bearing down in pitch black waters, he knew there was another sort of magic at work here. It was _almost_ horrifying, but his hands still held Poe's, turning the experience into something entirely different.

Finn closed his eyes – he was pretty certain his eyes were closed – and just focused everything in himself on Poe's hands.

He felt Poe shift and step closer, unable to hear any of the movement before their lips were sealed together. With another point of contact, Finn felt safe enough to move his hands to his lover's face then neck, letting his fingers roam and unravel the expertly tied cravat before starting work on the dress shirt. Everything felt slow and deliberate, but he saw no reason to grab Poe and hang on. His vampire was going nowhere. It was just a matter of enjoying the stillness with him, here, in a world where only the two of them existed.

Before he was really made aware, the two of them were moving. Really, Poe was moving and Finn was doing all he could to stay as close as possible. The shirt was almost dealt with, the skin of Poe's torso warm against his touch, goosebumps texturing his skin when his lover took a sharp breath against his lips. The state of his own clothes was a mystery, but the touch against his ribs proved that Poe had at least been busy.

It was the fall that shocked him out of the trance.

Finn's eyes opened to find himself straddling Poe on the bed, the real world rushing back in full on technicolor. It felt like waking from a remarkably intense dream, actually. When he finally found his bearings, he realized that Poe's eyes looked worried if not full of lust despite the fact that his hands had stopped.

He let out a breath and allowed himself a little smile, settling back into reality. “Can't keep that up under duress, Dameron?”

The answering smirk let him know that it was the right call. “Do you want me to?”

Now that was an intriguing thought, and Finn actually considered it for a minute. “No... Maybe another night, but I want to see you right now.”

The smirk grew wider. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled back. But the laughs died in his throat as his hands traced down Poe's chest, considering what he wanted to do tonight. Seemed like the ball was in his court as far as plans went. Poe's eyes were intent and hands stayed still on either side of his head. Finn... really liked this position. “Let's see how far I can get while keeping you in your sexy outfit.”

Poe's hips shifted beneath his. “I'm never taking this suit off again.”

Finn was laughing before the sentence was even over.

* * *

There was nothing about his love that wasn't intoxicating. Poe's shirt and pants were open, Finn's hands wandering across his skin and leaving a trail of fire not unlike the sun's rays. There was _so much_ he wanted to do in this room, all of it to make Finn feel as precious as Poe knew he was. But there would be time for all of that later. Right now, he just wanted to be whatever Finn wanted him to be.

Currently, it was a bit of an echo of their first night together. Fumbling, rushed, desperately seeking that edge to pitch themselves off of. It was also entirely different from that night, though. This was familiar now, the best kind of familiar, and Poe didn't feel half as scared about his performance anymore.

Though he'd always be a little scared about that, about not pleasing Finn enough, about not being good enough.

His mind fled from the thought when Finn's open kisses met his neck, more so than the hand on his cock had done. He tilted his head back, trying to provide plenty of room, arching up against Finn's body at the same time. Their hips had met by now, pressing and grinding and thrusting and he was genuinely not sure how long he could last like this. Any other person, absolutely anyone else, that horizon would still be a ways off. With Finn- But he could control himself.

“ _Poe_.” Finn's voice was a breath against his ear, a desperate ring to it as their hips met again and again, his love's hand around them both. “Oh, please.” His neck was against Poe's lips, the sweet taste and addicting smell of him overwhelming his senses.

“ _Stay away from Finn.”_

“ _I'm not the one drinking his blood.”_

But Finn wanted this, he wanted him, and Poe wanted it, too. He despised himself but he loved Finn, and all of his decisions were at an impasse. He would give his love anything, even what he wanted and hated and craved the most. “Do you-?”

“Oh, please, please. I love you. I want-”

His words were the only nudge Poe needed before giving in to that part of himself, the part that was starved for everything and never sated, the part that only ever wanted more. His teeth sank into his love's neck just as smoothly as if he bit into air and ambrosia filled him completely. Finn's blood was nothing like any he had before, absolutely nothing could compare, and he wasn't sure if it was because of the mermaid thing or the love thing or both.

Whatever the reason, the effect it had on his love was worth every doubt. He held Finn's back and shoulders, gripping him tightly to himself as his love came hard over him. As pure as it was, he lapped against Finn's neck and released him, sure every time that he would get too greedy and take too much, afraid of his own lust. Especially when Finn would lose his mind like that, because Poe couldn't help but be right behind him. His hips jacked once before another kind of ecstasy took him away, feeling more warmth spread and mingle with the mess already there.

He felt incredible. Stronger, sharper, more awake, more alive, as if every breath was his first again and again. His body thrummed with the briefest of satisfaction, the only kind he'd ever really find for that side, and he sank into the afterglow without daring to let go of the most precious being in this galaxy and the next.

“I love you,” Finn whispered against his throat, but Poe couldn't reply, too choked up with emotion. These were truly the best days of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This delay brought to you by my insane head cold and the medicine that somehow made everything worse. But I'm better now and I come bearing sexy times!
> 
> Hopefully, I'll find my rhythm again soon.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	34. Chapter 34

Perfection was being cradled by a vampire in a hot tub, to be honest. Finn sighed for the hundredth time, back pressed against Poe's chest, and happily humming at every stroke of the hand along his tail, keeping his eyes closed and worries far away. Poe seemed to enjoy following the grain of his scales, brushing his hand over the top of them again and again. “What is it you like about them?” Finn asked sleepily, belatedly hoping that the other didn't take that the wrong way.

But Poe answered easily. “They're beautiful,” he said, not pausing his motions. “The way the light catches when you move. How smooth they feel. Your scales are beautiful, Finn. _You're_ beautiful.”

It was the way Poe said those types of things that really got to him. It didn't matter how sappy the words were. He always seemed so sincere when he spoke them. Just something as simple as 'you're beautiful' came off as more of a fact than a compliment. Then again, that wasn't a simple phrase, was it? Regardless, when Poe said those things, Finn couldn't help but actually believe him. He turned his warm face into Poe's chest, not sure if he should just smile and bask in this or correct him.

After the pause, though, Poe continued. “I wish I met you years ago. I wish I'd known you before. At the very least, I wish we'd met when you first showed up here.”

“It was better this way,” Finn said, speaking before thinking about his words. “You wouldn't have liked me before.”

The hand stilled and Poe leaned slightly away. “Why?”

Oh, uh- Hmm. Instead of turning his head to meet the eyes he knew were looking at him, Finn just nuzzled closer. “My scales were a mess back then. I was a lot quieter, too. Rey says I'm like a different person now, but I just found good friends to help me, I guess.”

The silence that followed was... not comfortable but not on edge either. It was just a pause that lasted long enough for Finn to convince himself that he hadn't spoken at all. But then Poe's hand moved lower down his tail and he leaned away further, trying to make Finn meet his eyes. “I don't care how you look. You know that, right?”

There was an anger in Poe's eyes, a hurt, and Finn wasn't totally sure where that had come from. “I know,” he answered, only just realizing that he knew that for the truth. As much as Poe liked to wax on about his looks, it occurred to him now that it wasn't and had never been a deal breaker. “I know,” he repeated, hugging Poe close again. “I just meant-”

“No,” the other interrupted, arms going around Finn and a kiss meeting the top of his head. “The point in time doesn't matter. I love you. Always.” As Poe squeezed him, he predictably asked, “What happened?”

Not tonight. He just wanted to go back to a moment when he hadn't spoken at all. “I just didn't take care of them like I should have,” he said, knowing that Poe wouldn't buy it. He wasn't even really asking about the scales. “Kiss me?”

Poe ducked his head forward and captured Finn's lips with no hesitation. That was another thing that always got to him, how easily and eagerly Poe always gave.

When they broke away again and his boyfriend didn't try to keep pressing further, Finn allowed himself a smile and topic change. “I might have an idea if you're up for something different.”

There was still a bit of silence, enough there for Finn to wonder if he wouldn't respond at all or just go back to the other issue. But Poe blinked at him and grew a soft smile. “With you? I'll try anything once.”

Good. They could enjoy better things instead. Finn leaned back against him. “So, I've done a little more research-...”

* * *

Poe was so busy kicking himself for not knowing more about his love's past before that he had to ask for Finn to repeat himself after he explained what he wanted.

And- Well, now there were two things trying to scream for attention in his mind, the war steadily becoming more bloody and violent as the seconds ticked by. He had to mentally compose himself and prioritize like a normal person. The topic of Finn's past, which Finn himself seemed to not want to talk about, could be touched on another time. How many opportunities was he going to get to do _this_?

Hopefully, many. Hopefully, an infinite amount. Did pushing the other stuff aside make him a bad person? He hoped not. Otherwise, he was an awful person. Terrible. The worst.

“You sure about this?” Finn asked, lying on his back on their bed, his tail still brandished and lovely beneath Poe.

Poe, who was straddling Finn's hips, gripping his love's waist for dear life, naked as the day he was born and hovering over Finn's beautifully hard dick. “Uh-huh.” He kinda couldn't breathe. That was okay. Non-essential. “Wait, are _you_ sure? You asked for this.”

“I know. And I am.” Finn's hands trailed over his hips, holding him steady. “You look a little overwhelmed.”

“I'm-” He hated lying to Finn. “Yes, very much so.” His love laughed. “But I can do it.”

“I know you can,” his love answered with that steady smile, not mocking but rather just happy. “I'm pretty sure you even want to, but we have time. We don't have to tonight.”

Time? Time was a sick joke. He was still having trouble wrapping his head around Finn's lifespan, around the possibilities it presented, but he wasn't terribly ignorant about the difference between the hope and the reality. There was a time and place for taking things slow. This wasn't it. “Baby,” Poe muttered, leaning forward to press their chests together and kiss his love, shivering at the feeling of Finn's dick pressing against him. “I want this. You have _no idea_ how much I want this. I had no idea until that blowjob at your place. You remember?” He didn't wait for an answer, pressing kisses against Finn's neck. “I want this so bad that I'll probably come immediately. It's just... a lot. It's a lot. It's a whole lot.”

“Okay.” Finn voice was breathless, his hands roving over his back. “Okay. Yes, okay. Just-... Take your time. You're in control here.”

Poe bit his lip, not sure he really wanted that. “Just give me a minute with your dick in me. Then you can take over. Okay?”

His love's answering, “Okay,” was an octave or two higher than normal.

With a smirk of his own and now calmed down enough to be confident about this, Poe leaned back to his original position. Okay. He readjusted his knees, keeping some of the blankets between his skin and the scales. Finn's request, not his. Maybe they would hurt a little, scrape and burn, but he'd just have to make Finn realize that he'd be totally into that actually. Later. Some things need to be taken slower. But not this. Not with the mermaid looking up to him like he was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, like he was in awe.

Oh no, he can't do this. He'll disappoint- No. No, no. He can do this. Ride one dick, you've rode them all. Right. Sure...

Okay. Okay. Poe licked his lip and let out a held breath in a great _whoosh_ before finally guiding Finn inside of him. He... probably went a little faster than he should have, almost halfway sitting on his lap before making himself pause. A groan was tearing its way from his throat, a whole new feeling going on here. Not only was this the first time he managed to get his love inside him but it was with the _tail_ and- Finn's dick twitched, curled inside of him, and Poe groaned louder and dropped a little further.

Finn hissed, his longer than usual fingernails digging into Poe's waist as he cursed with eyes shut tight.

That... looked like a good sign. Poe was going to take that as a good sign.

After a couple more steadying breaths, he picked himself up with his knees and slowly dropped down again, going further and further until he was seated. “ _Aahhh_... _Fuck_.” This was a lot. This was way more than he anticipated. Then Finn's cock did the- “ _Oh my fucking-!_ ”

“Poe.” Finn was panting and seemed to be using a lot of effort to open his eyes. “Poe, can- Are you-”

“Yeah.” Yes to both of those questions. He was okay _and_ he was going to get moving. Any day now. Soon as Finn stopped moving inside him, he could gather enough brain power to- Okay, okay, okay. Biting his bottom lip hard, he moved up again and back down, reveling in the sweet jerks and spasms. He was probably going to do just what he said and come almost immediately but he couldn't help but lose himself a little with this. Poe's head tilted up to the ceiling, eyes closed, as he just moved.

“Ah, _fuck_ , Poe-”

To get a better grip, one of his hands moved to brace behind him, grasping Finn's tail enough to remember that he was missing about half of the scene right now. His eyes opened to look down at the mermaid beneath him only to find Finn's piercing eyes looking up at him and- Oh fuck, he was- “Okay, you take over now,” he said all in one breath, hanging his head between his shoulders and trying to breathe though never actually stopping the slow rolling of his hips.

Finn's grip readjusting his hips, tilting him ever so slightly forward, made Poe whimper. He felt absolutely powerless against this, like totally giving himself up to his love and never wanting it to end. It was a sweet vulnerability he hadn't felt in so, so long now. Back when he was young and innocent and was willing to give his heart to whoever asked. His nails scraped against Finn's torso, tears threatening to spring to his eyes as he was blasted _again_ with the overwhelming feeling of love he had for this man.

Finn pushed himself into him as Poe pushed down. Then once more, harder. Poe's mouth fell open and a whine tumbled out. “ _Yes_. Yes, just-” Then one of his love's hands tucked around his thigh before Finn pulled himself up to almost press them chest to chest again. Their lips met before Poe could express his utter pleasure at this turn of events, there hips still moving raggedly but at an increasingly awkward angle.

As much as he had wanted to ride Finn and see it through, that might have to be an adventure for another day. He'd gotten his taste sated for now and wanted something different, something more.

Poe tightened his legs around Finn's tail and rolled them over, letting it fan out between his legs with that twitching and curling cock still inside him. The mermaid growled above him, leaning down to kiss and bite at Poe's chest while making a trail up to his neck and jaw, his hips thrusting faster and harder into him. “Ah, _yes, yes-_ ” His mouth started a running commentary of all the sounds and syllables sweeping through his mind, getting progressively louder the longer it went on.

Finn, in comparison, wasn't exactly quiet. His voice was just muffled against Poe's skin, but the declarations of love rang through clear as day. Their lips met in a deep kiss when Finn jerked and Poe could feel the warmth and- He lost all remaining shreds of control and tumbled over the edge with a gasp against his love's lips.

By the time he came back to himself, Finn was heavy on top of him, panting and trembling a little. “How-” Finn paused, licked his lips, and took a few more steadying breaths. “How was that?”

Poe scoffed and pressed his lips to Finn's again, wrapping his very tender thighs around his tail to keep him inside just a little longer.

* * *

Finn had been dozing half on top of his boyfriend for awhile now, practically purring into his chest. He hadn't found it in himself to fall back asleep and staying in the haze between felt better in many ways. For instance, the hand tracing patterns into his shoulder was quite nice and not something to be missed.

He barely opened his eyes enough to see the beautiful man next to him, only to find that same man watching him with a serene, happy smile on his face. A little shocked, Finn smiled back. “Like what you see, sailor?”

“I bet you say that to all the boys.”

“Just the pretty ones,” he teased back, smile growing wider and mind inching more awake. Finn leaned forward for a quick kiss. “You're the prettiest, though.”

Even though Poe's grin was dopey and a laugh bubbled out, his cheeks still blushed just a bit. “Maybe you don't think sirens are a thing _because_ you're one.”

“Still on that?”

“You haven't convinced me, sweetheart,” he answered with the same dopey grin, eyes trailing down Finn's body before meeting his eyes again. “I mean, I do love you an _awful lot_.”

With another laugh and the feeling of his heart pouring from his chest, Finn managed to get in another kiss before Poe turned them on their sides. A small battle for dominance over the kiss started and neither won before they broke apart again. Finn curled up against Poe's chest as the laughing slowly died away, back into the calm of haze and near sleep.

But now that he was fully awake, there was something else on Finn's mind regarding their earlier conversation. “I'm sorry that I don't talk about myself more. About before we met.”

The sound Poe made sounded quite negative as he pressed a kiss into his hair. “Don't be sorry for something like that. You don't have to tell me anything. I'm not obligated to know.”

“Still-... I just feel like I should be more open.” He didn't like to think of the past very much. He left Iceland behind in more than just the physical sense. “I want to know all this stuff about you but I've barely shared anything.”

Poe hummed and shifted. “This isn't part of the give and take. Not to me.”

And Finn knew that it shouldn't be. If things were reversed, he'd feel the same way. “Maybe,” he said anyway.

“If I told you more, would that you make you feel better or worse?”

Interesting question. Finn popped his head up, eyes wider. “I always want to know more.” But that wasn't an answer, so he paused to actually consider it. “It'd make me feel better, I think... More comfortable. If that makes sense. We can't really get much more comfortable right now.” Both of them naked after the activities they've been up to...

“It's a whole other ballpark, though, right?” Poe asked with a smile, his body totally relaxed while Finn felt like he might burst at the potential for a story. “What do you want to know?”

He took a breath and settled in, making himself relaxed, too. “All of it. Everything you want to share.”

“Might take another 200 years,” Poe said with a little smile and then... glanced away and frowned. “Just... stop me if it's-... Just stop me whenever you want to.”

Finn frowned, too, and curled a little closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, okay, three things.
> 
> ONE. Wow, it's been a while. I feel like I've hardly had time to even work, if that makes you guys feel any better, lol. While I do once again come bearing sexy times, I also apologize that you're getting such a short chapter. It was pre-planned and I couldn't figure out a way to make it longer because I'm secretly really bad at writing sex and I'm eager for the next chapter. Which I'll get to in a second.
> 
> TWO. Guys, guys, guys. This fic is a year old and over 100k words as of this update. I absolutely love you all. I wanted to do something as a present for those achievements plus the whole Christmas thing, but it wasn't done in time. See, I was gonna give you guys this and the next chapter all at once but I failed because Subnautica was available for free and- anyway.
> 
> THREE. I think you have an idea of what the next chapter is going to be but in the effort of being little clearer and SLIGHTLY spoilery, it's going to be a whole bioptic on Poe's past. And it's going to be long. I have a fraction written already but it's going to be longer than I anticipated. BUT the big thing about the next chapter is that it's going to cover a lot of very heavy, very potentially triggering topics. I'm going to have a nice little set of warnings per section at the start of the chapter so no one gets sideswiped or whatever. It's also 100% skippable. You guys already know the gist of Poe's past, I think. These are the details that have turned him into who he is now rather than the self-confident, cocky flyboy we know in canon. A lot of it's dirty and admittedly problematic, but I don't want to change all of my headcanons 100k words into this fic, so it's going to be posted in all its glory. And of course, every topic will be handled with as much care as I can give it. Then we'll go back to our regularly scheduled programming. Here's hoping I can get it out soon.
> 
> Anyway, until then! Thank you for reading. Have a Merry Christmas if you happen to celebrate it and a Happy New Years if I don't see you before then. Love you, everyone! ♥


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so I finished Subnautica...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof! I'm sorry for the long wait. I won't keep you, but please remember that this chapter and any of its sections are 100% SKIPPABLE. It's just an extra thing that goes into Poe's past. You won't miss anything of the main story. If you do read it, I hope you enjoy.
> 
> WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER BY YEAR: (overarching warning for PTSD from start to finish)
> 
> 1849 - mentions of implied homophobia, implied noncon.
> 
> 1851 - implied noncon, internalized homophobia, confinement, domestic abuse, violence, murder/death.
> 
> 1882 - racism, violence, death.
> 
> 1899 - implied depression.
> 
> 1915 - implied depression, minor character death mentions, bloodlust.
> 
> 1917 - war, frontline battle, extreme violence, graphic death.
> 
> 1921 - depression.
> 
> 1941 - war, the Holocaust, extreme violence, graphic death.
> 
> 1944 - war, extreme violence, graphic depictions of wounds (gore? idk a vampire in the sun).
> 
> 1946 - atomic bombs aftermath, illness/disease/radiation, hospital settings, minor character death, suicidal ideation.
> 
> 1963 - depression, implied/mentions of serious depression, war mentions.
> 
> 1969 - background war, death mentions.
> 
> 1982 - implied alcohol/drug abuse.
> 
> 2002 - mentions of alcohol/drug abuse (but while in recovery mode), mentions of 9/11, mentions of war/death, serious depression.

**Chimaltenango, Guatemala – 1849**

He'd never been with a man before. To be fair, he'd never been with a woman either. He'd tried, really, but- Well, he was curious. And who could forsake him for giving in to what he wanted for just once in his life? His family was beginning to get upset that he hadn't married yet, a fact that didn't miss many local women.

Things were going to go in that direction, anyway. His life seemed pretty much planned out, for better or worse. Things didn't really change much around here.

Except for Maul. He was different. He was new in the area, didn't seem to show up for any real reason, and Poe met him through a friend of a friend of a friend. The way Maul looked at him was-

To be honest, Poe wasn't sure he liked it. But it was the first time a man looked at him like that. Like he was something to consume. Like Maul _wanted_ him. And Poe didn't want him but he wanted _that_. Just once.

“<You're a pretty little thing>,” he said once they were alone, trailing a finger beneath Poe's jaw. Poe had practically dragged him out in the moonlight, lamps from inside the buildings lighting what he could see. But he couldn't see much, and he wasn't even sure if what he did see was real at all. Maul looked different here than he had inside. Then his hand wrapped tightly around Poe's throat and- “<I want to give you something. Stay still.>”

The bite felt good up until Poe noticed the blood trailing down his shirt.

* * *

**Guatemala City, Guatemala – 1851**

Between fear, shame, and confinement, he hadn't seen anyone else since that night. But Maul left during the early morning hours, as he always did, and Poe finally slunk away to find his brother. Perhaps the only person who could ever understand, the only person who would believe Poe without condemning him to Hell for several reasons, perhaps-

Poe did find him, and he confessed everything. His feelings for men were nothing new to his brother but acting on them had been. But his story went much further than that. He told him about that first night. About the next morning. About the nights and days thereafter for the next three years. The fangs in his mouth, the burns on his hands, the scars on his neck from where he struggled when he shouldn't have- He gave all the proof he could, everything he had left of himself.

His brother believed him, hugged him, cried for him. Then they both went back, and Poe tore Maul's throat out while his brother dragged him out into the morning sun.

Despite his brother's tears and pleas, Poe couldn't go back to face the rest of the family. He knew the secret would weigh on his brother's heart, but it was better than the alternative.

He couldn't stay there anymore.

* * *

**Point Rock, Texas, USA – 1882**

He didn't age like other people. Should probably find that more worrying than he did. He still looked the same age as that night over two decades ago, but he didn't feel that young anymore.

“<He's at it again>,” Tomás spoke up, nodding out into the street. Sure enough, there went Randy, stumbling out of the saloon and tripping over horse shit just to walk up to that woman he'd been eyeing since they arrived in town. The woman that was married to the man at her side. Randy wasn't a bad fellow, per se. Just didn't know when to let things be.

Out of their posse, Randy was the only one that treated him and Tomás with any decency despite the fact he didn't speak a lick of Spanish. So seeing the husband shoot him dead right in the middle of the street was more of a shock than Poe cared to admit to himself.

Poe's gun was in his hand, but Tomás had a gift with marksmanship. He'd already killed the husband before Poe could even aim, the woman screaming as a third shot rang out. Tomás jerked and fell beside him. A fourth shot. A few more. He stopped paying attention. “ _Tom!_ ” His hands met the others chest, his neck, but the bullet had gone in his head. He was already still.

The firing had stopped. A woman was sobbing.

“Hey!” Someone slapped Poe on the shoulder – Rob, from their group – and then saw the body. “Ah, _fuck!_ The tall one's dead!”

Another rode up on a horse, pistol still at his side. Virgil, their leader, sneered down at them. “We need to go 'fore the fuckin' sheriff gets out here! _Ándale_ , boy! Let's go!”

He did. He had to. As they rode out of town and kept going for miles and miles, he kept looking back as if he could return for Tomás' body and-... Do what? More than leaving him there. He shouldn't have left him there.

A rock hit him in the shoulder as the morning's early rays began to creep up. He turned back to the posse, face covered as well as he always ever could. “Where the fuck are you going!?” Virgil screamed at him.

“East!” he yelled back and kept riding.

* * *

**Barcelona, Spain – 1899**

Dario entered the bedroom, took one look at Poe naked and lounging on the four poster bed, and laughed at him before continuing to his desk. “You could at least tr-tr-try to pose.”

Posing took effort. Poe didn't have to for him. “Where you been?”

“Around,” the other answered, likely knowing that Poe didn't really care where he'd been. He poured a pitcher of blood into one of those tacky goblets he let his guests drink out of sometimes. “Holdo m-m-missed you.”

“No, she didn't.” Amilyn was an oddity, embracing the vampiric lifestyle more than anyone else in the coven, despite seeming to have been as against the change as Poe had been. But she cared for the others, loyal to Dario, and even liked Poe. As far as his feelings on the matter, it was a little like finding family.

Didn't change his mood, though, and Dario noticed as much. “Why are you on my bed s-s-sulking?”

Poe pouted. “I'm not sulking.”

And Dario just smiled. “You met her?”

Rolling his eyes, he stared up at the ceiling. “It's my birthday.” Dario hummed. “I'm eighty-one.” Dario hummed again in a bad attempt to hide his laugh. “I could always leave if you want.”

With a wave of his hand, the elder vampire grabbed the goblet and walked towards bed, undoing the top of his shirt as he practically glided across the floor. “What did the fairy t-t-tell you?”

So it was going to be this sort of conversation. Poe sat up, his arms and waist sinking into the soft blankets and furs as he tried to sit straight. “Nothing,” he answered, watching Dario sit on the edge. “How old are you anyway?”

“Why?” the other asked, casually sipping his drink and seeming content to wait a century for the answer.

An answer Poe wasn't keen on giving. Over eighty years of this shit. Some of the others in his state seemed to wax poetic about their human days, and while life had seemed brighter back then, it was all still smudged. It's not that he was losing sight of the point to it all. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen the point to begin with.

But here was Dario with all of the answers, speaking of ancient things as if he'd been there, always smiling serenely with an emptiness to his eyes. How did he do it? Why did he try?

Poe shrugged. “Curious.”

Dario had a habit of seeing through him, though. Could have been the fabled precognition ability he touted, could have been any of the million tells Poe knew he had. Regardless, Dario waited a little longer before reaching forward to brush a curl behind Poe's ear. “It will get worse,” he spoke quietly, voice measured, “but you w-w-won't give up. Then... it'll be worth it.”

Poe wasn't sure he believed that. Was it possible to find a new low? Could anything make up for what he'd already seen and been through?

His fingers trailed from Poe's hair to brush beneath his jaw. “Is that what the fairy said?”

“No.” She said it'd been a pleasure to meet him, that she was looking forward to what would come later. “Maybe. I don't know. You both talk the same with that... philosophical bullshit. I don't know what either of you are saying half the time.”

“You will,” Dario said in a laugh, leaning forward to kiss him, leaving the taste of blood on Poe's lips. “How was Pa-Pa-Paris?”

“Still there,” he answered, grabbing him by his undone shirt and pulling him in again.

* * *

**Barcelona, Spain – 1915**

“Can tell us the life story of a flea that'll exist a thousand years from now, didn't see the mutiny right in front of his face.”

“Shut up, Amilyn.”

He'd last seen Dario maybe three hours ago, but Poe knew that he was already dead. He and Holdo sat on a rooftop in the cold air before daybreak, watching the fire consume their home on the horizon.

Dario had shoved them into a tunnel behind his walls and said he'd hold them off. He had smiled and Poe knew he wouldn't see him again. The only real question was how long he'd known about the coup.

Poe and Amilyn had taken the situation differently. He was content to sit on the roof until the sun's fire consumed him, too. Holdo was mad. At what, Poe couldn't be sure. The mutineers, Dario himself, the world at large- She always seemed to be angry, in a way.

“You know we're orphaned now,” she said, crouching beside him, “and those idiots will be looking for us.”

“There's too many to fight,” he answered back, exhausted, “and they'll hunt us if we stay in the country.”

“No, fuck them,” Holdo sneered, waving a hand at the fire as if to shoo the entire thing away. “Let's go have some fun. Some _real_ fun. Everyone else is getting in on it.”

Poe already knew what she was talking about. His eyes darted over to her. “Are you crazy? We'll out ourselves immediately.”

“It's a _war_ , sweetheart. Kill the witnesses. Kill them all. Imagine it-” Holdo adjusted herself to properly sit next to him. “No lulls. No younglings to watch. Just all out slaughter. Blood and battles- It'll be perfect.”

Poe stared at her before looking back to the fire, finding himself considering. He wasn't much for fighting and aggression usually, but the idea of tearing something apart wasn't too terrible in the moment. He wouldn't even have to think anymore. Just fight and give in.

He licked his lips and looked back to her grin.

* * *

**Craonne, France – 1917**

He was never one for fighting. For aggression. Never one to be as cold as he'd wanted to be.

He messed it up on nearly the first day, deciding to not go alone after all and joining a group of soldiers wandering the countryside. He messed it up when he started talking to them, eating with them, laughing with them, finding excuses for hiding his skin from the sun even on the overcast days. He messed it up long before this.

Orders had left them to wander into a part of the war that Holdo would have loved, where there was nothing but dirt and blood, metal and bone. Their youngest had been wounded, Clark, the boy Poe had favored more than the others, and another group had found them pinned in a trench, drawing their guns and screaming.

Poe didn't know what language they screamed in, the sound of bombshells and gunfire drowning out voices. He didn't know what the flags on their shoulders represented, too difficult to see even for him. But they had been about to kill them.

By the time Poe realized his mistake, his fingers were sunk deep into the throat of the last gurgling soldier, tossing him aside with a strength that wouldn't look human even in this darkness.

He turned back to his troop, blood soaked to his wrists, and they stared back at him in silence. It was as if the war had gone on hold just for them all to pause.

A shell went off to their side, and Clark shot him. Poe's head whipped aside, the bullet grazing his cheek, then he looked back in time the see the CO wrestle the gun from his grip and for them all to go still again. They were all afraid, their commander hiding it slightly better than the others.

Poe looked over their faces, chest constricted in a way he hadn't thought it could be any more, before stepping forward and taking his jacket off. “They're surrounding us. I can clear a way out.”

“What-” The commander – Poe only knew him as Lt. Jones – tried to ask but shrunk away from the heavy jacket thrown at his feet. “You're not British.”

“Pretty good with accents,” Poe admitted, taking off the dog tags and dropping them with the jacket. “I stole them off a body. My name's Poe Dameron. I can clear the trenches and get everyone back to the line.” Wherever the line was now.

There was more yelling getting closer. Another bomb going off not five feet away. Poe knew it'd be a miracle if these men could get out without him, the reveal probably what will save their lives.

“What the fuck are you?” another asked.

Jones shook his head. “Doesn't matter. It-” He paused, staring at Poe and trying to find something. Whether he found it or not, he pulled Clark by the arm. “We'll follow-”

“Wait,” the youngest panted, beginning to lose too much blood. “Walt, I-”

Poe- Walt- Whatever name the kid wanted to keep calling him- He grabbed Clark's arm and gave a squeeze, sure that the wound on his cheek had already healed by now for them all to see. “It's okay. I'm okay. We have to go.”

He ran forward without looking back, getting several feet between them before the world bled to darkness and his screeching war cry pierced over the field.

* * *

**New York City, New York, USA – 1921**

As Poe lounged back in bed, watching the smoke drift from his lips to mingle with the air around the ceiling fan, his mind went back to a night in Barcelona. Only now he was fully clothed sans the suit jacket draped over a chair in the corner.

“Let's go dancing,” Amilyn spoke up from the window, likely watching the city below. The place they found themselves in was nothing to brag about what with the wallpaper peeling and most of the doors missing knobs, but Holdo's wardrobe hadn't met such difficulties. Her sparkling dress with matching headband and heels would have been an indicator of wanting to go out for anyone else but on her was everyday attire.

The white did go good with her blonde hair, though. She could almost pass for looking bright-eyed and innocent. Poe took another drag of his cigarette. “Why on Earth do you think I want to dance?”

“I didn't ask if you wanted to,” she answered, throwing her happy grin at him. Always delighted. Her giddiness was beginning to get on Poe's last nerve considering the context floating in the air. “It'll be fun, Poe. When's the last time you've done something just for the fun of it?”

He didn't let himself think about that question. “I'm doing it right now,” he said instead, holding the cigarette between his lips and watching the ceiling.

“You're so boring,” Holdo chuckled sweetly. “Our fun is what we make it. If you dwell and mope all the time, you'll just-”

A knock sounded at the door, and Poe darted his eyes over to her. No one should be interested enough to come up here, and _he_ certainly didn't invite anyone. If she'd- “I didn't do it,” Holdo whispered before walking over to answer the door.

Poe huffed, not even bothering to watch the show, knowing far too well that she could handle herself. But of all the things he expected, it wasn't this. “Leia!” Holdo greeted in delight.

Poe shot up in bed.

And there was Leia in the doorway, beautiful and fierce, brown hair braided over her shoulder and eyes glinting between the two of them. He hadn't seen her since Dario died...

Holdo grabbed her arm, unaffected as always, and practically dragged her into the room, swinging the door closed behind her. “Maybe you can help out with my little dilemma. Poe won't go dancing with me. He's been in such a mood lately.”

“He's probably too intimidated, Amilyn,” Leia offered with a little smirk. “How long have you two been in the city?”

“A little while now,” Holdo answered while Poe swung his feet over the edge of the bed and pretended to be presentable. “Lots of bodies and a lot of nightlife. It's easy to blend in.” And feed, but he didn't finish that thought for her. “Why? Have you been looking for us?”

Leia shook her head. “You weren't hard to find for me. I do need to tell you something, though. Couldn't risk it not being in person.”

Poe took the cigarette from his mouth and stood, every bit as serious as Holdo wasn't. “What's wrong?”

“You're out.”

Amilyn laughed. “Like 'out' as in you're just realizing the thing about Poe and men or 'out' as in-”

“The government knows about you,” Leia continued. “Both of you. They're learning about your kind, too. Something about the war tipped them off.”

Amilyn wasn't laughing anymore though her anger seemed more irritated than anything. Poe wasn't sure she was capable of something more explosive, but he still didn't like being under that look. “The war,” was all she had to say.

“I wasn't going to kill _everyone_ that saw me. And I trust those-”

“I don't _care_ about-”

“It wasn't just Poe,” Leia cut in. “You two weren't the only vampires with that idea. I just thought I should come to warn you.”

“That we're being hunted?” Holdo sneered, hands on her hips.

“No,” Leia said with a tiny smile and walked back towards the door. “They want to offer you a job before someone else can.”

But of their eyes followed her but Holdo was the one to ask. “A job? Doing what?”

Poe could answer that. “War.”

By the way Amilyn looked, one could think Poe just finally agreed to go dancing. Her gasp transitioned into a bright smile before she looked back to the fairy. “Where do we meet them?”

Leia turned to look at Poe. He just put the cigarette back to his lips and turned to the window.

* * *

**Somewhere near Opole, Poland – 1941**

One thing Poe could say about economic depressions was that he didn't have to suffer through them anymore. There was always blood to drink. Starving wasn't something he was familiar with these days. Even when he tried, the thing inside him would get fed one way or another. But starvation in America looked the same as starvation in Europe. All of it was people, just with different accents or traditions or skin color. Borders were lines in the sand and didn't fundamentally change human nature.

He wished the younglings could understand that. To them, all humans were divided into categories of what they could feed on without repercussions and what they could feed on with probable repercussions. Trying to point them in the right direction felt impossible sometimes, made even more so by him being in the minority of command with such ideals. The others just wanted blood.

Had they learned nothing in the last two decades?

One of the younglings jostled him. Poe didn't know his name, didn't care to know. He was pretty sure it was Marcus. “I hear it,” he answered, pushing off of the tree as the train grew louder. “Don't throw bodies on the tracks,” he reiterated to the small group. “We can't risk derailing it.”

“Boring,” Holdo sighed next to him and just laughed at his glare. “I know, I know. I just think you're not very creative, is all.”

The rumble of the train vibrated through his body hard enough to rattle his teeth, but he could still hear her words through that damn grin. “Just follow my lead and do your job,” he hissed to the rest of them, as if they were to blame for his irritation.

The headlamp swept over the trees as it rounded the bend, shining bright enough in Poe's eyes to blind him. He didn't care if they saw them at this point, though. When the light left their eyes and the engine was close enough, Poe rushed it.

It reminded him a little of when he first left Guatemala and met Tomás and Virgil. He had done this enough times on horseback with the sun pounding against his body that he'd gotten good enough at it, and trains hadn't bothered to change all that much in the last sixty years. But now it was dark and keeping his nature secret wasn't an issue anymore.

This still would have been a lot easier with a tank.

Left foot on the step, right hand on the grab bar, Poe picked himself up and smashed through the closed window feet first, aiming for the engineer's head. One down, he used the momentum to grab the nearest officer's face and slam him into the wall.

A couple of shots rang out, quickly snuffed when Holdo disarmed the two soldiers with a flurry ending with blood spewing from their necks. “You did the last one!” she shouted as she jogged by him to stop the train even though he was the one closer to the controls.

This wasn't a game. This wasn't _fun_. Every time he thought about reminding her of that, he'd just think of how much she'd love to get into an argument. Instead, he focused on guarding her back and not a second too soon.

An officer in full uniform dropped in from the next car over, his sharp shriek, black eyes, and monstrous teeth proving well enough that he was one of them. It was enough of a shock to bring Poe to a pause, double checking to note the Reichsadler pinned to his chest. So the Allied Forces weren't the only ones. That's interesting.

This one was still young, though, and Poe showed him. His own screech was loud enough to block out all other sounds, the train's rumble not even present, and the lights snuffed out. Before his cry could finish echoing, Poe was pulling the flooded heart out of the body before tossing both over the side.

By then, the train had slowed enough to gently jerk to a stop, Holdo grumbling as she locked in the brakes. “ _Men_. And you think _I_ do the dick measuring around here.”

Poe rolled his eyes. “Come on. We still have the hard part left to do,” he said as his only retort, hopping off the train and giving the signal for his people to open the boxcars.

* * *

**Luxembourg City, Luxembourg – 1944**

The only thing he could say about this disgusting war is that he was able to help people. Not enough people, but some- a few. Even one made the difference sometimes. Why this all had to be fucked up with a power play was beyond his understanding but he couldn't deny that Holdo had always shown signs of pulling shit like this. He'd just ignored it. They were family, after all. He didn't want to see it.

But now Marcus was dead, Lydia was dead- They were all dead or with her aside from the three who weren't too proud to escape during the chaos. He'd catch up to them. Maybe.

“We're tools to them, Poe,” Amilyn said to him in a pant, serious for once in her life. “We can do better than them. We _are_ better than them.”

His face hurt, even blinking stung. He could imagine her claw marks weren't very attractive and probably wouldn't bother to heal for a few days. They went deep. Even the blood in his eyes was annoying. But he wasn't the one gasping for air. “What the _fuck are you talking about!?_ We're helping people, Amilyn! What the fuck else are we supposed to do!?”

“They're children! They're brats playing with things they don't understand! Why should we listen to them? Why should we even fight in their war? You think they'll just let us do what we want when this is done?”

“Not all of us should be allowed to do what we want.”

“ _Poe_ ,” she groaned, stopping the circle around him which brought him to a stop, too. “It's simple. You're _with_ me or against me.”

Going against her would mean running back to humans that barked orders at him and hiding from her grip for the rest of his life. Going with her meant war and blood and death though not his own, never his own. He thought the decision would be harder to make. It said a lot about her, sure, but what did it say about him?

He scrambled out of the tunnel and into broad daylight, Allied Forces about a klick or two to the west, Holdo's screech rattling through the ground beneath his running feet, and skin of his bare forearms broiling.

* * *

**Somewhere near Hiroshima, Japan – 1946**

Hiding from Holdo and the United States military meant scurrying further east. He'd lost the other three vampires along the way, either to death or hope or something else. By the time he'd heard about the bombs, he was already alone. More devastation was hard to think about, let alone stomach, but there were people that needed help and he had nowhere to go.

He didn't really think he'd be all that useful in a place where there was nothing left to fight, but the first doctor he'd met said in fluent English that they needed good blood and Poe knew where to get it. Turned out the doctor had gotten his degree in Chicago. Turned out he wasn't very shocked about Poe's... condition... Turned out Poe still knew how to kiss someone and mean it.

He felt like more and more of a fool with each passing day.

Poe sat his bag down on the table for a few nurses and doctors to flock to. His skills weren't needed as much anymore, but he supposed it was habit at this point. Just like how the nurses gave him a thumbs up rather than speaking since his Japanese used to be hilariously awful. It wasn't that bad anymore. Practice and all that.

He left them to it, trying to figure out how best to show them he could speak their language without being dragged into a conversation he wouldn't be able to follow. Instead, Poe pushed the curtain aside and paused. Muran's eyes fluttered open, prompting him to step forward and sit on the bed.

The doctor had fallen ill during the last six months that Poe had known him. It didn't seem to be the same sickness that the bombs had caused, but Muran believed it was some sort of off-shoot of that. Poe wasn't a dumb person. He knew medical terms and diseases as well as anyone else, but these things were all new. As old as he was, as much as he'd seen, it was hard to fathom weapons like this existed.

There were days when he wondered if Holdo had been on to something. “You're looking better tonight.”

Muran smiled back at him. “Had a good day,” he answered lowly in the hoarse voice he had now. “My last one, I think. I probably won't be here tomorrow night.”

He hadn't talked like that before. He was more a man of blunt logic rather than depressing poetics. “It's bad luck to say things like that.”

“My kidneys are failing,” he said with the same small smile. “The rest will follow. My heart might still beat tomorrow, but I doubt I'll be here... Pouting isn't a good look on that handsome face of yours.”

“It's a scowl, not a pout,” Poe answered, trying to play along and not grit his teeth. He glanced around the bed, then the room, then stood up to walk around to the other side. They'd already talked about this. “It doesn't have to be that way. I can fix this.”

“You're persuasive, Dameron,” he answered just as calmly as he ever did, “but I'm more stubborn than you.”

Truly, it was a miracle Poe didn't punch something. “Muran, you _stupid_ son of a bitch. Would you rather die? Do you _want_ to die!? Do you want to die _like this!?_ ” When he stopped to wait for an answer, Muran just stared at him until Poe turned to pace in the other direction.

He got about three steps in before the doctor spoke up, speaking slowly like Poe was a dense kid. “We don't know enough about it. We don't know if the change will cure me. Worse, we don't know it won't infect you. You're my main concern.”

“Oh, fuck you.” Poe scrubbed hard at his face, turning and pacing around the bed again. “I take what I want. I'm stronger than almost any other fucker on this stupid fucking planet. You don't tell me what to do.”

“You won't do it without my consent,” Muran stated as if he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt. Poe couldn't tell him that he was right. “Besides, how do you know I don't want to die?”

“Because you're _stubborn_.”

The other laughed at him, as much as he could laugh now, not that Poe had known him in very happy moments of his life. It was a breathy chuckle that might as well have been gigantic bellows. “Poe... How old are you?”

He was going to be 128 years-old in a month. Poe stopped walking and looked down at the tiny smile. “Why?”

The pause was longer than usual, and Muran's gaze drifted from his face to his chest before doing his best imitation of a shrug. “Curious.”

Poe sat down again and grabbed his hand to hold tight between his own. “That doesn't matter. I can fix this. I can help you. If it doesn't work, then- then I tried.”

“Then I'd have suffered and brought you with me.”

He shook his head hard enough to pull something in his neck. “It's a _chance_! There's a chance. It doesn't matter if I die. I've had enough. I've had more than enough for any single lifetime. I don't need more, but you deserve it. I can-”

“Don't cry for me. You're too pretty to do that.”

“Shut _up_.” Poe wiped his face against his shirt sleeve, not letting his grip loosen. “Did you listen to a damn thing I said?”

“I've listened to everything you've said,” he answered. “You told me that you've never turned anyone before, that you're waiting for death, that all you want to do is help people-”

“I meant in _this_ conversation, you asshole-”

“That's what I'm talking about.” He gave another breathy laugh, eyes dipping shut for a moment, before continuing. “You've told me what you have is a curse but it's not. Whatever the circumstances were, you've been given a gift, and that gift is passed to all those around by being near you're light. I won't risk taking that from you or anyone else.”

Poe waited for a moment, blinking the tears from his eyes and pretending they weren't there. “You seem to be under the impression that I'm a good person, Muran. We need to work on that.”

“I don't want you to be here when it happens,” the other continued like Poe hadn't spoken. “I don't want you to see.” His other arm came around with more effort than should have been necessary to hold Poe's bicep. “You'll be okay. You're strong. And you know better than anyone that the sun will rise again, that good times come with the bad. I know you'll be all right.”

There was so much to argue there. It was like Muran didn't know him at all. “This it, then?”

“I'm afraid so.” When Poe nodded and looked to the wall, the hand on his arm gripped hard at his clothes. “I love you, you know. Thank you.”

There was a lot he wanted to say to that, too, but it did get him to look back at him. After a long moment of trying in vain to hold himself together, Poe took a deep breath and leaned forward. “I love you, Haruki,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

A few hours later, Poe watched the sunrise from the roof of the tallest building he could find. He didn't stay. He later told himself that he never intended to stay.

* * *

**San Francisco, California, USA – 1963**

He was standing out on the balcony, smoking and watching ships navigate the bay in the twilit dusk when his hotel door opened and closed.

“Been awhile, sweetheart,” Amilyn greeted with a laugh, leaning against the railing beside him. Her initial pause was almost easy enough to miss. Almost. “Not running this time, huh? Not like you. The last few times we ran into each other, all I managed to see was a handsome streak.”

Poe was exhausted. He took the cigarette from his mouth and blew smoke into the air. “Can I finish this first?”

“Sure,” she nodded. It felt like a nod. He didn't look at her. “So... where you been? I know you were in that little war.”

“Korea, yeah,” he answered, letting go of the cigarette to dangle from his lips. “I was already in East Asia. Thought I could do something.”

Holdo hummed. “Asia was smart to get away from me. Thought you'd stay in Europe... But that ended a decade ago, and you haven't been in America.”

“I was on an island.”

“Really?” she laughed. “ _Tropical._ Again, not like you.”

“Highest it got was nine degrees Celsius.” During the winter months, he could walk around all week and never see the sun. He survived off of the wildlife, never leaving enough harm to kill anything and starving himself a little in the process. When it was really dark, the ocean seemed to shimmer and take shape, the water so cold and frozen that he could see through it like glass. He was supposed to live out the rest of his life there.

But it was cold. And lonely. And taking too damn long.

For her part, Holdo chuckled and shook her head. “Nine degrees. You're insane.” She sighed, leaning back while her arms clung to the rail, playing like a kid. “Why'd you leave? Food shortage?”

There were people sometimes. He didn't feed on them. He rarely spoke to them. “Heard about the thing in Vietnam. Now the President's dead and everything's going to hell.”

“You came back to fight another war?” Holdo righted herself, leaning full body against the railing, trying to catch his eye. “That's not even a _good_ one. There's no real point to it. The thing to do is wait for the real one to start.”

“America and Russia won't fight. Too much to lose.”

Poe could _hear_ her eyes roll. “The last time a country's leader got shot when things were this tense, you ended up slaughtering over a hundred people to save six men who hated you.”

He sucked hard on the small bud left of his cigarette, trying to sear the image from his mind. “They didn't hate me.”

“They all hate us. Just like those enlisted twerps in Luxembourg, but you were always too damn soft to-”

With a flick of his thumb, the cigarette sailed into the darkening sky, a small bead of red light engulfed in the void. “Let's get this over with.” He pushed off the railing, rolling the sleeves up on his dress shirt.

Instead of moving, Holdo huffed, rolled her eyes, and watched the ships. By the time Poe was done, arms at his side and stance ready to take a punch at the very least, she still hadn't moved. After an uncharacteristic beat, she eventually continued. “I don't know why you keep doing this to yourself.”

“What's that?”

“I know you were in Japan after the bombs fell.” The easy admission caught him completely off guard, having not spoken about what happened in Japan since he left the day after he last spoke to Muran, the day he knew for certain his friend was dead. She continued as if time hadn't frozen at all. “Which was _stupid_. Stupid for anyone but especially for you. You care about _everything_ and you fight in all these wars and go to these fucking disaster areas like you can help, like it'll even matter if you help, like anyone will even give a fuck.”

“I've saved lives,” he shot back, surprising himself by speaking at all.

Holdo just shook her head. “ _Lives_. Thirty years, fifty years- They'll be gone by your next cigarette. But, I know, _I know_ , every day matters.” She sighed, the anger seeming to leave her. “You care about everyone else's life except your own.”

He let it sit for a moment between them, let it fester until he couldn't take the quiet anymore. “Are you going to slit my throat or talk all night?”

“Truth is, Poe, you're no fun to kill.” Amilyn pushed away from the railing and turned to him. Her hand gently found his cheek, and he let it stay. “I'll see you later, sweetheart. We're not done yet.” With a pat of her hand, she glided to the door and left.

* * *

**Somewhere in South Vietnam – 1969**

Vietnam sucked. It was the middle of summer, humid as hell, and he had to keep himself covered the entire time the sun was out. Almost everyone he worked with was human and unaware of what he was, not to mention the purest shade of green he could imagine. Young. Some of them were still sweet. They'd all heard of their fathers and forefathers fighting in the wars, assumed they could come out here to relive the glory days before dying horribly and immediately.

And it was so fucking _wet_.

Sometimes he wondered if Holdo was right... No, he knew she was right. He could live in a swamp for the next hundred years if it meant not having to watch another kid die because he wasn't fast enough or strong enough or smart enough-

“ _Shut up shut up shut up-!_ ”

Poe sat up, freezing along with everyone else. The sun was just starting to set, just enough that Poe had already gotten rid of his extra layers in favor of leaning against a tree. When someone usually barked for everyone to _shut the fuck up_ , something bad was about to happen.

Instead, it was one of the guys huddled around the short wave radio, waving his arms at everyone else, just enough to get curiosity spiked.

Poe had seen a million false alarms before. The war's ending _today_. Nope, okay, _tomorrow_ or some shit. He sneered, walking forward and preparing himself to hear some politician tell everyone about their next big deal and their grand plans for everlasting peace.

But it wasn't a politician.

“- _currently upside down on our monitor but we can make out a fair amount of detail._ ”

“What's this?” he asked, at least bothering to stay hushed.

The one with the flapping arms didn't even look up. “It's the astronauts,” he said, and everyone huddled a little closer except Poe. It was the damn idiots shooting for the moon. A chorus broke out, though, questions and half-assed answers, before the same man shushed them all again so they could listen.

The radio started talking about a ladder that was a little short and a surface that was finely grained, and Poe finally leaned in, too. “That's impossible.” He was met with five people hushing him.

As he sat and listened to giant leaps for mankind and grains sticking to a man's feet like charcoal, Poe began to wonder what exactly the fuck he was doing here. He looked up in the sky, the moon not even visible even though he was sure this wasn't recorded live. Were they on it right now? These children who lived a fraction of his second, were they on the moon right at this very moment?

“Whoa, hey.” Someone tried to grab at his arm as he walked by, more than obviously walking out of camp. “Where you going?”

“West,” he answered and didn't look back.

* * *

**Miami, Florida, USA – 1982**

Poe woke marginally when he hit the floor. He stretched, quilt wrapped tight around him like a cocoon, and curled back in on himself. Just another fall out of bed. No big deal.

Then he heard the unmistakable sound of Leia shoving curtains open to let the sun in. Ah. So that's what happened. He yawned and rolled over.

“Get _up_ ,” she griped, a sharp foot meeting his ribs. He just groaned. “You've been in a state somewhere between drunk and high for the last two months. I'm not having this behavior anymore.”

It wasn't that he didn't believe her. In fact, he knew for certain that his tear through Miami just came to an abrupt end. He just wasn't all that broken up about it and grunted at her. Then remembered. “Did you kick Robbie out?”

“ _Robbie_ left yesterday while you were unconscious,” she answered with an audible snarl. “And that wasn't his name.”

“Oh... Did he lie to me or did I forget his actual name?”

Leia groaned. “Men, I swear. I leave you alone for just a little while and- Oh, not _now_. He's not even vertical yet.”

Another set of footsteps, another scent- His quilt was peeled away to the sun's shadow, peering up into another man's face. A scowling and assessing man. “He's not pretty.” Poe jerked back and wiggled away, peeking through the blanket like it was a shield, but the man just looked up at Leia. “I expected more from a vampire. I thought they were pretty.”

“He can be pretty when he's not a mess,” she grumbled. “Poe, this is Han. Han, Poe. Get used to each other. We'll be traveling together from now on.”

Traveling together... Who the fuck- Poe frowned up at Leia, squinting away from the light and adjusting his quilt. “How come you can take someone along and I can't?”

“You can start by remembering their names first,” she sighed back. “I can't control you, I'd never want to, and Han isn't exactly a straight and narrow person, but maybe having another along with us will be enough to make your heels cool off.”

“I almost resent that,” Han spoke up.

Poe ignored him. “I don't _want_ to cool my heels.”

Unfortunately, Leia ignored them both. “Breakfast was brought up. You both have thirty minutes to eat it before our flight to Aruba.”

“I-” He was used to moving around on short notice, it was how he lived his life, but humans had roots they rarely wanted severed. He looked to Han, confused, but the other man just shrugged. “You're cool with that?”

“Have you _tried_ the room service here? It's not bad.”

“No, I meant-”

Leia began walking out of the bedroom. “Twenty-nine minutes.”

Even as he got on the plane, placed suspiciously between Han and Leia, he still didn't know what the hell was going on. But he was pretty certain someone was going to have sex with someone at some point... He drank a lot of coffee on that flight.

* * *

**Genoa, Italy – 2002**

Once Poe realized that Leia had a point about taking it easy, he left her and Han to it. Going back to his depressing, freezing island was an idea, but he knew it was a bad idea. He needed to... get better. That included being around people, letting himself... do whatever he was with them.

As beautiful as this place was, Poe stayed inside all the time. Just him, a single radio, and all the synthetic blood he could stomach. He didn't know what the real thing tasted like anymore. Didn't care enough to remember.

It was a quiet life, watching the world drift by. He didn't really hear from anyone, which was a blessing. He'd considered calling Leia during that whole thing in New York but backed out of it at the last second. It wasn't like he was going to follow a call to war anymore, so what was the point of contacting anyone? He stayed inside instead, resolutely not thinking about wars and death and people needing help when he wasn't there. Not thinking about blood and burning skin and sterile hospitals. Not even thinking about all of the drugs and liquor and sex that would make him forget for all of a minute. He stared at a wall, stayed in bed, and pretended he wasn't thinking about any of it.

But that was a year ago. Things had changed since then. For instance, he was at the window now instead of in the bed. Improvement. Progress. Still sober. Victory, apparently.

That's when the landline rang.

He picked up the phone and sat himself down on the window seat. “ _Ciao_.”

“ _Poe_.”

The voice was entirely unfamiliar but his name struck through him like lightning and he immediately knew who this was. “Leia.”

“ _You'll never guess who I ran into today_ ,” she said, as if continuing a conversation they'd just had yesterday. “ _Temmin Wexley. Sweet child. Funny. When I told him I was a fairy, he asked if I was like Tinker Bell, and he was so honest when he asked that I couldn't help but laugh. Had to tell him she's a pixie, not a fairy. Different, you know._ ”

“I thought they were the same,” he mentioned, confused. “Wait- What are you talking about?”

“ _Pixies and fairies. Anyway, he's your nephew._ ”

“What?” It wasn't that he didn't believe her word. He always did. It was- Well-

“ _He's you're nephew,_ ” she repeated. “ _Just a kid but orphaned now, still with an eager outlook on life much like someone else I knew. He doesn't need a legal guardian far as I can tell, but he could probably use some family nearby. I told him a bit about you. He has a lot of questions about the wild west that I hope you're ready for._ ”

He stared out the window, watching ships come to and fro, feeling like his pause was lasting a touch too long. “... What?”

There was a significant pause on Leia's part, too, but when she spoke again, it was with a lot more honesty in her voice. “ _I've found a home, Poe. I want you to join it. You need this kid, and he needs you. And there's something else. Someone else. They aren't here yet... You remember what Dario used to tell you?_ ”

“Dario was full of shit.” Leia laughed, likely knowing that he remembered everything Dario told him. “Why do you sound like that?”

The chuckles subsided but she still sounded happy when she spoke again. “ _I've aged. Han and I had a son._ ”

… She shared her life, created something new. Poe blinked out of the window, wondering how he missed this.

“ _Poe_ ,” Leia spoke up again, shattering his thoughts, “ _my dear friend, it's been long enough. It's time for you to come home._ ”

His breathing was ragged, heart pounding, yet a part of him felt surprisingly calm. The fact that he was scared to leave this house was enough to make him want to leave. “Where are you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY, hopefully, one of these days I can get back in a rhythm. I miss this fic. That said, I do think I'm going back to the "update whenever I can" days until another rhythm is set.
> 
> Let me know if you have any questions, concerns, or extra input on what I should warn for that I missed. Again, I didn't add tags to the story itself since this chapter is an extra bit that doesn't really go with the rest of it at all, especially since it can be skipped.
> 
> Anyway, Subnautica is fucking amazing.
> 
> Thank you all for reading!! ♥ More to come.


End file.
